My Hero Academia - Generation Z
by HotPinkMonster
Summary: 15 years and terrifying battles later, society is finally in peace under the protection of Deku, the No. 1 Hero & Symbol of Peace. However, with old threats resurrecting, new threats emerging and mysterious Villains coming into play, UA must raise a new generation of powerful Heroes who can combat these threats and inherit the future their predecessors have sustained. (SYOC CLOSED)
1. Ch 0 - Foundation

**Chapter 0 – Foundation**

 _People have always divided society into two – those with superior Quirks and those with inferior ones. Of course, the rare, pitiful Quirkless aren't even included in the fray._

"TASUKU!"

The scream raged through the shattered building as the unconscious body of a crimson-haired boy fell gracelessly on the floor.

"Now, now, I haven't killed him yet, little miss." The malicious aura that filled the air . . .

. . . It was of murder.

A dilapidated building with six teenagers – one unconscious, two injured – and a Villain from the country's most dangerous criminal organisation. The man pressed a leather boot against the temple of the unconscious boy, lightly pressing down. "But my, he went down easier than I thought he would." His silver teeth gleamed from behind dark lips. "The muscle of your little group, Atsushi Tasuku."

 _The ones with superior Quirks have always been on top, revered by the rest of the population as the Protectors and Saviours, the ones who will lead them into a future of glory, safety and success. And the superior ones have always used the others 'below' as stepping stones._

"Erika" the only uninjured boy in the group, a blond who was supporting a heavily bleeding brunette murmured "Can you stand?"

"Barely" the girl honestly replied, her left eye completely caked shut with flowing blood. "But the good news is I managed to send some of my minions outside to ask the Pros for help."

"Well, that's the tiniest bit of sugar in the tea" the blond sported an awkward smile, his emerald gaze flitting from the powerful Villain to the unconscious body of his friend. "Now if we could only save Tasuku and manage to survive till the time they arrive-"

However, before he could complete his sentence, a fast black mass had hurtled itself towards the Villain, a low growl erupting through the atmosphere.

"Inori!" Erika cried out, her face fraught with worry.

 _Although it may be ironic, and even hilarious, for someone like me to state this but I've never really liked this 'superior-inferior' Quirk system. A Hero who can burn even the hottest metal to liquid will drown if thrown into a deep enough pool. But a Hero who can hold their breath for hours or breathe underwater will survive even the Pacific. So doesn't it all depend on the situation and how well your Quirk is adapted to it?_

"Everyone, run!" screamed the black-haired girl as she grabbed her unconscious friend's collar – instead of normal arms and legs, hers had turned into scaled, black claws, complete with jutting crimson nails. But before she could dash towards the others, a fist had grabbed her by the ends of her hair, pulling her head back so harsh her neck almost snapped.

"Ah, yes, I've heard of you, Little Princess." The girl yelled as the Villain effortlessly pulled her towards himself, dragging her up by her long hair. "It's quite hard to believe that someone so delicate-looking has such a fearsome Quirk . . ."

However, the man was forced to let go of her when a car crashed through the building, going straight towards him and using the few seconds it bought her, Inori had leaped all the way across the room with the unconscious Tasuku.

"I won't say about the damage it could've caused Inori and Tasuku, Nagi, since your plan succeeded." When a thick mass of smoke obscured the Villain, the teenagers turned to escape. "But next time, do give us a warning" Erika mumbled, trying to run as fast as she could in her injured condition.

But were it not for the blond Hiro being on alert, the flying car would've splattered Erika.

"LOOK OUT!" He pushed the brunette out of the way and brought his palm up just in time – as soon as the tip of the car's bonnet touched his palm, it was sent hurtling back towards the Villain.

"Just how strong is this guy?!" Nagi hissed, voicing everyone's thoughts.

 _But there're only a few people in this world who understand the truth of this matter – and I consider myself lucky to be one of them._ _ **I**_ _can see the truth, even if I can't do anything about it. I may be among the ones who are at the top – and maybe the only one up here who knows this is a curse and not a blessing._

"Very strong, unfortunately." The boy could only manage to stare behind him in shock before a powerful fist punched into his stomach, knocking every bit of oxygen out of his lungs, shattering his lower ribs and damaging his organs.

"BLEGH-!" Nagi vomited a spray of blood as he toppled to the ground.

"NAG-!" Erika's scream died in her mouth but someone was already on the move. The last person of the sextet, a small girl with fluffy white hair in twintails, was rushing towards the Villain.

"Suzune, no!" Hiro rushed after her – she wouldn't make it in time. _'This Villain . . . he's not someone we can handle.'_

' _If only I can touch him once!'_ The girl launched herself from the floor, twisting her body through the air – once she touched him, it didn't matter if she fell. He would be incapacitated.

"Ah, you're the trump card, Ryota Suzune." The smile he flashed her was sickening but she'd moved her hand and shoved it against his arm.

"Sight. Steal."

"She did it?!" Inori stood up, carrying the unconscious Tasuku in her monstrous claws.

"Marvellous . . . I truly can't see anything!" He waved his fingers in front of his eyes before pivoting his body around on his heels and grabbing the little girl's arm, proceeding to quickly snap it in one clean cut. "But I can hear your panting breaths, little miss."

It took a few moments for Suzune to register the pain before she released an excruciated scream and fell to her knees, her arm now nothing but a limp appendage.

 _I have been strong ever since my Quirk registered itself when I was three – very, very strong in fact. I've always been the cream of the crop – in kindergarten, in elementary and even in middle school. In fact, I've been so high up on top that it's been painfully lonely – no one could ever reach where I was and no one bothered to. I was strong, they all knew. I didn't need protection or help or comfort, they all thought. And because of that . . . even when I needed someone . . . I had to show that I was 'strong' and perfectly okay being alone._

It was only when Suzune was reduced to a sputtering, crying mess did Inori realise they were all gonna die at the hands of this wretched Villain.

They weren't immortal. Team TENSHI was actually gonna die, not even out of middle school yet.

Tasuku was showing no signs of waking up – taking in the fact he had received a direct hit on his head, it was remarkable his skull was still intact. Nagi was breathing loud, his mouth and chin and neck covered with blood but his organs were about to fail. Suzune, her face covered in tears and snot and sweat, was desperately trying to pick herself up, her left hand clutching her broken arm.

' _We're all gonna die.'_

Erika could barely walk, let alone run and she couldn't use an eye. Only she and Hiro were in a condition to fight but against _him –_ the man who stood so calmly, grinning victoriously at having taken down half of them – they were obviously gonna lose.

"Inori." She blinked at the blond, unable to respond in any other way. "I want you to be ready."

Erika, having come a little out of her shock, muttered "Hiro, what are y-"

"JUST LISTEN TO ME" he gritted, taking a few steps forward. "As soon as you get the chance, I want you to grab Erika and fly out of that hole." He gestured towards the large gap in the wall created by the hurtling car.

Amidst Erika's defiant answers, she could only stare at Hiro's determined back.

 _But there was something more painful than this abrasive loneliness. It was the reason I was praised and complimented by everyone, put on a pedestal, called a "leader" and a "Hero who will lead Japan to an even glorious future." . . . But nobody realised my all-powerful Quirk had caused me more sorrow than happiness._

"Hey" the Villain turned himself towards the remaining trio, launching himself from his haunches and flying straight towards them "Include me in your conversations AS WELL!"

A punch aimed straight at Hiro. The boy glared at the older man with burning hatred before bringing up his palm.

"Heh" the man grumbled. "I know how your Repeal works, Hiro Daiki. Which is why-"

He flew past the young boy in a sudden motion before turning around in the air, bringing his knee up and hitting him on his unguarded back. "It won't work on me."

"GAHH-!" Hiro, blinded from the pain, was sent straight flying across the room before he crashed into the opposite wall.

Erika fell on her knees.

Inori couldn't stop staring.

' _Are we all . . . really gonna die?'_

 _Monster . . . yes, that is my Quirk. That was what I was called. The ability to turn into an ugly, powerful Monster . . . Yes, that is a definite show of strength. People praised me, told me how powerful and noble that form was. Liars. All of them_ _ **LIARS.**_ _I could see it . . . their fear, their disgust, their mistrust. The dishonesty in their smiles, the horror that always swam beneath their eyes, their shivering legs as they stood up to greet me . . . I could see it_ _ **ALL.**_

"Ahaha . . . Hahahahaha . . . Ahahahah . . . AHAHAHA . . . HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!"

Scary . . . he was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.

"Are you guys really the strongest middle school students in all of Japan?!" He took out a handkerchief to wipe the grime on his face, staring straight at the remaining two paralysed girls. "I had heard a lot about TENSHI, about the precocious and prodigious six kids who made up an all powerful team. But you guys . . . are kinda disappointing."

Not only had he beaten them up terribly . . . he was also insulting them. Inori bunched her fists together, trying to breathe calmly, trying to keep her anger in check.

It wasn't working.

Her blood felt like it was on fire, her nostrils flaring and her chest felt like it would burst from rage. Pocketing his handkerchief, the Villain started walking towards Erika, his gait leisurely. These children weren't a threat – if anything, they had been poor practice. "Huh, so we're now left with the Leader and the Berserker, hmm?" Erika backed away until she hit the wall, her knees buckling against each other, tears spilling from her visible eye.

"I wish you guys were stronger, really."

 _And so, I accepted it. I was a Monster. I was an ugly, powerful creature that didn't need love or kindness. I would be okay standing alone at the top. That's what I thought for a long, long time . . . until some people changed my mind._

A duo of medium-sized cement golems rushed at the Villain but he immediately crushed them without much effort. However, a series of small cement-shaped pixies began flitting around his head, poking his eyes, hitting against his head and keeping him occupied.

"Inori!" Erika yelled, barely managing to hold herself up. "Escape, fa-!"

But before she knew it, the hulking man was in front of her, a hand tight around her neck and her pixies now lifeless shapes of cement on the floor.

"Man, you Leader types really are annoying" the smile on his face was irritated – Erika's kicks were useless and her small hands were powerless against his muscles. As his grip gradually tightened, the brunette began choking, her vision weakening and saliva dripping from the corner of her lips. "But once you're done . . . once I'm finished with you all . . . They'll finally have to acknowledge me."

"W-Who?" she managed to sputter out with the last of her breaths.

"The Number 1 Symbol of Peace and his allies . . . Those useless Heroes will have to acknowledge that they're not as powerful and protective as they think they are! That there are people they can't save!"

"YES!" He stared at the ceiling, eyes dancing with bloodlust and unshackled happiness. "I'M GONNA MAKE THE UNFLINCHING DEKU SCREAM WITH SORROW!"

The last thing Erika saw before she passed out was a monstrous being flying straight towards them.

"Ino . . . ri . . ."

"Huh?" The Villain turned back – and smiled. "Ah, hello, Little Princess."

What he was greeting wasn't a Princess at all. It was an ugly, black, scaly, winged creature with protruding teeth and crimson eyes, claws drawn to attack. The Villain let go of the girl he was holding and turned towards her, cracking his knuckles invitingly.

"I'm glad to see you finally wanna stop playing."

"GGGGGRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"Froppy, are you okay?!"

Everything was in ruins inside the building. The Pro Heroes and police on the scene had managed to catch the Villain Outlook but there were five severely injured teenagers to attend to . . . and a wild one to be restrained. The Rainy Season Hero looked up and her close friend Red Riot was glad to see she only had some shallow cuts on her body from the now unconscious girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine" the adult croaked, carrying the sleeping girl who had been knocked out by a serum she used. "But she sure does remind me of a restrained Katsu-chan during the sports festival awards ceremony in our first year of UA." For safety purposes, the black-haired girl had her limbs and mouth bound.

Red Riot awkwardly laughed at the memory, thinking, _'Isn't that kind of bad though?'_ However, his face turned grim as he looked at the injured children who were being rushed to ambulances. "It'll be hard for them to recover from this. They underwent a lot of damage today . . . both mentally and physically."

Froppy stared at him for a few seconds before turning a soft gaze to the sleeping girl. "But I don't think we need to worry, Kirishima-kun. We survived our ordeals as children – and I'm sure they'll survive theirs and emerge stronger from all this."

Red Riot finally allowed himself a smile.

Yes, they would survive and become stronger. They were the new generation after all.

* * *

 **So, that's the chapter 0 which is just supposed to be an introductory chapter and a chance for me to introduce our protagonist, showcase some of our grown up favourites from the original series and bring out the introductory form. Yes, this is an SYOC. Yes, next chapter we'll begin the actual story from the admission test to UA when I get all your OCs. Since I don't wanna make the chapter too long, I'm gonna be posting the OC form and an example (in the form of Inori's form) on my bio. Also, please read the** **Rules and Guidelines** **below the form.**

* * *

 **OC FORM**

*Name – (Their official full name here)

Nicknames – (Does not include their Hero Name but any other pet names they may have)

*Age – (Should be either 15 or 16)

*Gender/Sexuality – (Put a diagonal line between each)

Birthday – (It'd be nice to have some birthday parties to celebrate)

*Height – (Your character's height in feet and inches)

*Weight – (Your character's weight in kilos)

*Hair – (Your character's hair colour and style please)

*Eyes – (Your character's eye colour)

*Overall Appearance – (Describe their body shape, skin colour and other distinctive features here)

*Dressing Style – (You can give me customised outfits if you want but those who don't wanna put in that much effort, a general sense of what they wear will do)

*Voice – (Describe their voice and speech pattern. Do they have a husky voice, a high-pitched one, speak from their nose, have a unique voice from their Quirk? And do they cuss a lot, use very formal vocabulary, speak in a certain dialect etc?)

Seiyuu – (If they had a Japanese voice actor/actress, who would it be? This ain't necessary but I'd appreciate it if you filled this out)

*History – (Basically, their back story. Make it as detailed as possible and put in at least one interesting event please)

*Relationships – (State what kind of relationships they share with people they know from before joining UA. Can include family, friends or anyone who was significant enough in their life)

*Personality – (Describe your character's personality in details here, please. Include interesting traits they may have, adjectives that can be used to describe them, personality flaws, strengths, how they view life, how they approach people etc. Or just look up some character wikia sites)

*Alignment – (Well, I'm sure they're all Good but who knows for real, eh? For those unfamiliar with alignment concept, I've given the basic info on my bio so read up and choose the one that fits your character)

*Strengths – (The strengths they have which is not related to their Quirk)

*Weaknesses – (The weaknesses they have which is not related to their Quirk. Should be more or equal to strengths)

*Goals – (State here their reason behind becoming a Hero and if they have any additional motivations, short or long term, in mind)

Dialogues – (Examples of any catchphrases or dialogues they may say through the course of the story)

Scenes – (Any particular scenes you'd like to see your character in)

*Likes – (Examples of some things your character likes)

*Dislikes – (Examples of some things your character dislikes)

*Hero Name – (The name they adopt as a hero-in-training)

*Quirk Name – (Name of the Quirk)

*Quirk Description – (What the Quirk is and the way in which the character uses the quirk)

*Quirk Strengths and Weaknesses – (The strengths and weaknesses of the Quirk. Should be more or less balanced)

*Hero Costume – (The character's Hero costume. It should suit their Quirk and try to guard against its flaws and enhance its strengths)

*Fighting Style – (Describe how the character fights)

* * *

 **Rules and Guidelines:**

 **1.) Names, Quirks and hairstyles will be subject to change if I get duplicates. (If two characters' personalities are too similar, they will be subject to change as well)**

 **2.) Please don't give me any Quirks that are exact copies of the characters from the original series. This may be difficult to do so since there are around a 100 characters but you can be really versatile if you think! (Also, Quirk similarities to minor characters are okay)**

 **3.) I'll be needing around 16 to 20 students for class 1-A of UA. If there are any extras, they'll go to class 1-B.**

 **4.) The fields marked with asterisks are mandatory. The others are not.**

 **5.) A lot of canon characters will be appearing so YAY! Also, you can make your characters share "reasonable relationships" with the canon characters so go out there! (Also, if someone can send me an Eraserhead and Ms. Joke kid, I'd be much obliged. Haha! Got you! *is actually pretty serious*)**

 **6.) No overpowered OCs. Even Todoroki and Bakugou have weaknesses.**

 **7.) I'll only be accepting students for now but I think I'll also be needing some new Villains in the future.**

 **8.) Please PM me your characters with 'Generation Z: (OC NAME).' For example, if you're sending someone called Minoru Mineta (please don't), it'll be 'Generation Z: Minoru Mineta.'**

 **9.) I hope to get all of my OCs by 10th November although I'll extend the deadline if there aren't enough.**


	2. Ch 1 - Towards UA!

OP 1 – **Zero by Aimer**

 **Chapter 1 – Towards U.A.!**

(Friday, 15th April, 8:58 a.m.)

"Am I late?!"

The door slammed open with a metallic shriek as the hinges tore away, causing the structure to fall forward with a harsh thud. Everyone who'd been working with full concentration in the large room turned to look at the panicking man standing in the doorway who was nervously staring at the fallen door. Then realising who it was, they all smiled widely at him before turning back to their work.

"You're right on time, Midoriya" consoled a black-shrouded figure – the Jet-Black Hero with the head of a crow, Tsukuyomi.

"Man, have some pity on that door though!" grinned a tall, lanky man – the Taping Hero, Cellophane – as he shook hands with the flushed Deku.

"Ehe, I'm sorry about that" the olive-haired male sputtered as he rubbed the back of his head. Even fifteen years later, the Number 1 Symbol of Peace was as awkward as ever . . . but his close friends preferred him that way.

As he entered the room and greeted Tsukuyomi, Cellophane lifted the steel door up and fixed it up with his tape in seconds. "No problem! It's as good as before now!" He nodded to himself with satisfaction while dusting his hands.

Deku smiled at the cheerful man before turning his attention to the plethora of large screens that occupied the room from wall to wall. "Are the preparations all done?" he asked, eyes roving over each examination site showcased on the screens.

"Almost" answered a deep voice that came from one of the dark corners – as Deku's eyes turned towards the leisurely footsteps, his face brightened when he saw the speaker. "All that's left to do is to confirm that the examinees arrive in the auditorium by 10:00."

"Aizawa-sensei!" The 30-year old looked as happy as a child who received his favourite gift on Christmas.

"Now, now, Symbol of Peace" the black-haired man, who now had forming wrinkles around his eyes and fine lines on his face, teasingly scolded his former student "Don't show such a childish expression to our new students or they'll think the Number 1 Hero is a man-child."

"Yes, sensei!" Deku immediately stood to attention, bowing – no matter how strong he was, Eraserhead would always be one of the most influential guiding figures of his life. "I'll make sure all of them correctly understand the values behind being a true Hero!"

Eraserhead hid his mouth behind the confines of his bandages, allowing himself a small smile. He didn't realise when such a puny, unconfident, nervous kid . . . such a rowdy, naive, unskilled bunch of kids . . . turned into the most powerful Heroes of today.

' _They did go through a lot, beginning from their high school years',_ he trailed off into his own thought train while the reunited classmates began talking animatedly amongst themselves. Aizawa turned to the screens, watching the one that showcased the imposing gates of the academy, which had now opened for the students who'd been waiting outside. _'I can only hope this new batch can continue their legacy . . . and become the new generation who can protect the future they worked so hard to achieve.'_

* * *

(Friday, 15th April, 9:45 a.m.)

"I'm late, I'm late, I'M SO TOTALLY LATTTTTTEEEEEEE!"

An anguished yell echoed through the heavily trafficked streets of Musutafu city as angry cars honked and angrier men cussed at the wild-haired boy who recklessly weaved through them. Uttering a "Sorry!" and "Excuse me!" every five seconds, he was quite a sight with his messy orange ponytail, scrimped uniform and anxious freckled face, riding a scooter that seemed to have come right out of a Tom and Jerry show due to its cartoonish formation.

The boy glanced at his wristwatch and his face scrunched up even more, to the point it looked like all his skin would fall off. "Mou, why couldn't you wake me up earlier, auntie?!" he bemoaned, blazing through the road at a speed Ingenium would be proud of. He had slept early, ironed his uniform, eaten a healthy dinner and had made sure to memorise the pictures of as many useful objects as he could. He also had decided to completely save all his energy and _not_ trace even a bauble pin before the entrance exam started.

And then he woke up at 9:11.

Kenio wanted to animate a steel newspaper and hit himself with it.

However, when he saw the towering building of his location in the distance, his face immediately lit up brightly, large orange eyes shining. He was so captivated he did not notice the truck speeding at him from the intersection.

"LOOK OUT!"

When the loud honk blared and caught his attention, it was too late.

' _No . . . not yet-'_

He wouldn't be able to avoid the monstrous lights and the hulking vehicle in time.

His eyes squeezed shut.

The truck ran over the scooter, the cartoonish object bursting into a puddle of ink that stained the pavement. The driver skidded to a stop with an aghast expression but when he saw no dead body on the sidewalk, he was left scratching his head.

"I swear I saw a ginger-haired kid just seconds ago . . ." he mumbled, wondering what he would explain to all the raging drivers that'd skidded their cars to forceful stops.

' _. . . Wind?'_

With strong, sharp hands wrapped around his torso, Kenio could feel a gentle breeze surround him, cascading around his face and body in gentle waves. And in the background, he could hear the sound of something . . . flapping.

' _Wings?'_ When he opened his eyes, he let out a half-scream after realising how far up high his legs hung over the towering buildings of Musutafu's educational sector. However, a voice close to his ear whispered "Be quiet."

He turned his head and blushed the deepest shade of red when he realised his face was inches away from a girl. And an incredibly pretty one at that.

But that thought of his immediately deflated when he noticed the monstrous black claws that were wrapped around his torso, nails so sharp and large they could've punctured his lungs in one prick.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The ebony-haired girl clicked her tongue in annoyance and began descending, her feathery wings flapping gently as to not alarm the anxiety-stricken guy more. Once they had touched the floor, she unwound her arms from around him and they had soon regressed back into the normal, lightly tanned hands of a young girl.

When Kenio realised he was staring very disconcertingly at the person who'd just saved his life, he was immediately reduced to an apologetic mess. "I-I'm so sorry!" he bowed so hard his spine almost cracked. "And thank you so much for saving me!"

However, the girl seemed to have no interest. "It's okay. I was just flying by" she nonchalantly stated before turning away from him. "Besides, I need to leave for somewhere."

It was only then that the orange-haired boy broke out in a cold sweat, his face paling to the point of no return. "Oh no . . . my entrance exam for UA . . ." he toppled to his knees, completely defeated. It was 9:57 a.m. now. "Everything's over . . ."

The girl, who had started walking away, stopped and turned to look at the fallen boy. "If you're going to give UA's entrance exam" Kenio didn't even have the heart to hear her "Then get up. The building's right here."

"Eh?" the last three words immediately snapped his attention to his saviour and following the direction of her pointing finger, he took in the sight of the huge building she'd descended in front of. The imposing structure of concrete and Pyrex, the sacred place of teaching that had churned out countless top Heroes, the pinnacle of Heroic education-

UA stood right in front of them.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

* * *

(Friday, 15th April, 10:01 a.m.)

Kenio was nervous to see that he and the black-haired girl were the last ones to enter the dark auditorium, the doors shutting as soon as they'd stepped in. Swallowing his anxiety, he quietly made his way towards the first two empty seats he noticed, very conscious about the silent girl trailing close behind.

' _I think she's annoyed with me,'_ he disappointedly thought. _'Although I can't really blame her . . . Man, today's a really bad day!'_ He sat down with a sigh and she took the remaining aisle seat beside him, as quiet and expressionless as ever. A few seconds later, the stage in front of them lit up with warm blue and orange lights and all the chatting students immediately had their attention drawn.

"Glad to see they're finally beginning things." Kenio immediately turned his head towards the smooth voice that resounded from his left, coming face-to-face with someone whose appearance totally startled him but he murdered the upcoming scream in his throat, not wanting to repeat things. The guy next to him raised an eyebrow and chuckled in good humour, unfazed by the shocked look on the face of the freckled boy. "I look quite 'different', don't I?"

To be honest, Kenio had never seen someone who looked as unique as the boy, even back in the States. Under the dim reflection of the lights from the stage, he could see that the male had dark skin (purple? Blue? He wasn't sure) but that wasn't what was so significant about him. Curled horns protruded from his forehead, reminding Kenio very much of an adult ram, and from under dark lips, he could see two very sharp canines glint. His hair, however, looked like it was well taken care of with neatly cut curls styled in a fashionable undercut (he felt a little ashamed of his wild orange locks and messy ponytail) but his eyes . . . Oh Lord.

' _They look like lakes filled with blood.'_

However, realising he was staring quiet unnervingly again, Kenio immediately snapped to attention and mumbled "Oh, I'm sorry for staring!" But the other boy didn't look like he minded and the friendly smile on his face encouraged him. "I'm Nakamura Kenio!" he offered a hand, hoping for a handshake and plastered a bright smile on his face. "It's nice to meet you!"

"Tejina Jigoku" the boy replied, shaking his hand and Kenio's smile widened. "Same here and don't worry about the staring. I'm quite used to it and most of them don't apologise like you did." He winked before his eyes flitted to the freckled boy's companion. An admiring expression crossed over Jigoku's face as he asked "I'm sorry but I have to inquire this – what's your pretty friend's name?"

And it suddenly struck Kenio that he didn't know either.

The lavender-haired boy chuckled at the sheepish look on his new acquaintance's face before leaning towards the girl, who only shifted her eyes towards him, remaining completely still otherwise. "Hello there, pretty one." Not a single change in expression. "Mind sharing your precious name with this man humbled by your beauty?"

She stared at him for a few seconds before coldly whispering "Tetsuya Inori."

Kenio gazed upwards, hit by a sudden wave of faint familiarity. _'I've heard that name somewhere before . . .'_

Jigoku, however, had a smug smirk spread all over his face. "I knew you looked sort of familiar." Kenio wanted to ask him the meaning behind his sentence but blinding lights flashing from the stage drew everyone's attention.

After a heavy set of drum rolls, a very familiar Pro Hero waltzed onto the stage, oozing confidence in his leather outfit and walking with exaggerated, large strides. Kenio grinned with all his teeth as he announced "That's Present Mic! Oh my God, this is the first time I've ever seen him in person!"

"And what the hell is so special about that?" an annoyed voice snarked from beside Jigoku, slightly startling the orange-haired boy. Looking over, he was met with the sight of a tall boy who had his feet propped up on the chair that was directly below – thankfully, it was unoccupied. With light green hair gelled in a faux hawk, a uniform that consisted of an untucked shirt and baggy pants and a face that screamed ' _GO KILL YOURSELF!',_ he was the very epitome of a proper delinquent.

As Present Mic rapped out an introduction and history of UA in his blatantly fake American accent, the delinquent boy continued, "That wannabe rock star is the one who hosts all the stage events in UA every freaking year. You don't need to act like a salivating fanboy for that."

Kenio, slightly triggered, retorted "I wasn't acting like a 'fanboy' but you sure are acting like an immature kid who thinks being rude and insulting people turns you into a 'cool delinquent'."

Dark, narrowed eyes snapped open as the boy gritted through clenched teeth. "Are you asking for a beating, freckled ginger?"

"Ah, here we go" Jigoku mumbled, sinking into his chair.

"Can I request you both to please postpone your quarrel till you leave this academy?" A guy sitting below the two irritated boys called out in a quiet whisper but with enough conviction to silence the two. "Some people are trying to listen to the instructions for the entrance exam. If you have no interest in it, please leave."

"TCH!" The delinquent boy looked like he wanted to beat somebody up to a pulp but for the moment, he managed to satisfy himself by pointedly clicking his tongue. Kenio felt a little ashamed of himself as the words of the other boy rung a painful truth – he was here for the entrance exam but he was focusing on anything and everything but that. Slapping his cheeks lightly, he thought, _'I must get a hold of myself.'_

Inori, who had been quietly watching everything, focused her gaze on Present Mic.

"Now, let's get down to the rules of UA's entrance exam!" He enthusiastically cheered and the white screen behind him lit up. This signal was enough to catch the attention of every single examinee in the large hall. "It is our tradition to use point-marked robots in our entrance exams but this year, we'll be adding some spice to this tradition in the form of a new twist!"

"A new twist, huh?" Jigoku repeated, looking deep in thought.

Immediately, five examination sites flashed onto the screen and many of the students gasped as they realised what he meant by the twist. "That's right, this year, as an anniversary to celebrate UA's golden jubilee as the top Hero school in all of Japan, we have designed five special obstacle courses for the entrance exam!"

Everyone erupted into excited chatter, filling up the entire auditorium.

"All of the six hundred examinees will be divided into five sets of one hundred and twenty each and positioned in all the five obstacle courses. They have to cross through three layers of obstacles while battling different robots that hold five different point-sets according to difficulty level. If two or more people take down the same robot, the points will be divided equally between each so those who plan to steal others kills, be careful!" Present Mic wagged a reprimanding finger in the air. "Also, the first eight people to collect 100 points and reach the finish line in each site" the screen zoomed to tall, green flags with a picture of Deku on it, "will be accepted into UA!"

"So five hundred and sixty people are gonna fail, huh" Kenio nervously smiled. "As expected of UA."

"So we just have to crush the weeds, huh?" The grin on the face of the delinquent boy was laden with competition as he punched a knuckle into his open palm. "That's gonna be fun."

Inori glanced at the two boys for a few seconds before turning her attention back to the screen.

Instead of a zoom up of the five different obstacle courses, the screen had shifted to showing a picture of the different robots. "Here, you can see the different kind of robots you'll encounter in the test. First, is the green 5 pointer – these are the easiest ones to knock down as they're only equipped with pellet guns and have a size of 3 feet in height. However, be careful, since they're annoying little ones who are adept at running and elusion!"

"Second, are the 10 pointers which are coloured yellow and are around the 5 feet in height. However, these are a little more dangerous and harder to take down as they are equipped with tasers, have a more durable body and although they may not be fast as the five pointers, they'll actually fight back!"

As the images kept shifting, the previously quiet students began talking amongst themselves again.

"Then, there're the 20 pointers, the blue-coloured third type." The robot on screen looked much taller and leanly built than the first two. "10 feet tall in height, they are equipped with one shield and two long swords – not to worry though! The swords are made of a specially enforced plastic so they won't leave behind any severe injuries. But, let me warn you," Present Mic seemed to be really enjoying this "They're really good at using those swords!"

"I-Isn't this too hard for just the entrance test?!" Some incredibly nervous chap yelled out.

"It's UA, you dunce!" The powerful, searing voice of a husky girl immediately shut the poor chap up. "If you want 'easy' then just go to some third-grade high school on the outskirts!" That elicited mean laughs from some people.

Inori felt that was rather uncalled for.

"All right, all right, calm down!" Present Mic immediately silenced the crowd. The screen flashed again and almost everyone's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "The 25 feet tall, bulky and red 50 pointers! They do not have any special equipment but they more than make up for it with their size and durability! But for all that, defeating two of them will score you enough points for your acceptance!"

"That looks incredibly hard to defeat, though" Kenio mumbled to himself, his palms sweaty with nervousness.

"It's gonna take a lot of muscle power to bring down, that's for sure" Jigoku replied, his fingers busy fiddling with a coin.

"I want to see the fifth type" Inori stated, surprising the two boys sitting next to her. _'Oh, so she does speak willingly?'_ their thoughts simultaneously ran.

However, before Present Mic could say anything else, a shrill buzzer rang through the auditorium, causing everyone to immediately cover their ears. "Oops, looks like we're out of time!" There were voices of protest from the students, everyone asking about the fifth type he hadn't explained. "Think of it as another part of the test – figuring out how the 100 pointer robot works and defeating it! A true Hero can always figure out how to tackle unknown enemies and find their weak spots!"

At that sentence, everyone quit their whining and complaints, realising the truth in Present Mic's words. He was right – a true Hero needed to have the ability to assess the danger of an unfamiliar enemy on the spot and defeat him with that observation.

"Now, our staff will be handing out sensor bracelets to everyone – please make sure to take care of it as any damage to it will be seen as failing the entrance!" Kenio and Inori both took the white bracelets and wrapped it around their wrists, staring at the currently blank digital screen located in the middle. "These bracelets will first showcase the examination site you're assigned to and then they'll keep a track of the amount of points you amass during the exam! So keep on checking it and as soon as you hit 100 . . . RUN TOWARDS THAT FINISH LINE!"

"YES, SIR!"

* * *

 **Student: Inori Tetsuya**

 **Quirk: Monster**

 **With her Quirk, Inori can partially or fully transform into a horrifying Monster with clawed limbs, feathered wings, telescopic eyes, a durable body and poisonous saliva.**

 **P.S: She's a very emotionless person but if you want to evoke a reaction from her, touch her hair or talk about (her not-so-secret crush) Deku!**

* * *

(Friday, 15th April, 10:42 a.m.)

"Looks like we were assigned to the same examination site, Tetsuya-san" Kenio smiled awkwardly, making a second attempt to have small talk with the black-haired girl. She only nodded, seated on a chair in Preparation Room No. 2, folding up the edges of her blue track pants till they reached just below her knees. The freckled boy sighed internally at his failure of invoking a verbal reaction from her but that disappointment was quickly suppressed by his excitement at the prospect of wearing UA's PE uniform – he ran his hands over the white insignia on his chest, exuding glitters out of sheer happiness.

"Yosh, now I just need to make sure this isn't the first and last time I get to wear this!" He bunched his fists, trying to invoke his inner determination.

Jigoku had been assigned to Site No. 1 and he was unaware of where the delinquent boy had gone. Kenio looked around at all the different people around him – many looked incredibly nervous, there were some who looked very calm and composed, some had gathered into groups and seemed to be discussing hushed strategies, while there were the really confident ones who had expressions of 'I got this!' on their faces.

"I thought I recognised you from somewhere." Both Inori and Kenio turned towards the pair of footsteps that'd stopped right in front of them, coming face-to-face with two boys who were definitely not amongst the anxiety-ridden. "But it really is a pleasure to meet you here, Tetsuya Inori-san."

The speaker was the boy who led the duo – but had it not been for his deep voice, both the other teens could've easily mistaken him for a girl. An elegant posture, light pink hair trimmed neatly in a pixie cut and braided into a bow-adorned fishtail, smooth, milky skin and a round face with delicate features that were visible even from behind his dark blue surgical mask. He offered a latex-gloved hand to Inori, light glinting of his green-framed glasses. "I am Shimizu Akaname and I'd like to work with you for the entrance test along with my partner."

The black-haired girl stared at his hand with cold eyes and was about to lift her hand to shake it before-

"Mou, that's not how you greet people, Aka-chi!" The other boy, the one with the wild white hair and deranged dark eyes (only a thin white iris was visible between the abyssal expanses of his black sclera and pupils), had thrown his arms around the long-haired girl. Kenio and Akaname stared in horror for a few seconds as the boy poked the motionless girl's cheek and cooed, "I'm Madou Mashiro but you can call me Shiro since we're friends now, Nori-chi!"

Akaname dragged the boy off her and chastised, "Please act a little civil, Madou-san!" The snow-haired boy lazily rubbed his hair, clearly not paying attention. "No one really appreciates strangers invading their personal space and you should definitely not be hugging a lady you barely know! Do you know that can account to molestation, which is a major criminal act?! We're giving an entrance exam to get into UA, the Academy which is at the pinnacle of heroic justice and values! And you're going around making people uncomfortable while I'm trying to establish friendly relationships with them. You already scared away Kanashimi-san – you should be more sensitive of how you . . ."

"U-Umm, excuse me . . . hey, excuse me . . ." Kenio waved a hand between the two but when that did not work, stepped in between them. As Mashiro smiled mischievously at an annoyed Akaname from behind the ginger's back, the freckled teenager asked "So, you were saying something about teaming up?"

"And you are?" Akaname asked in a slightly arrogant tone.

' _Oh Lord, are there nothing but snobby brats here?'_ But not wanting to get into a fight like with the delinquent, Kenio smiled cheerfully and offered a hand to the bespectacled boy. "Nakamura Kenio, a determined examinee who wants to pass the entrance exam to UA and wear this PE uniform for the next three years of his high school life."

He couldn't really see properly but it seemed like Akaname had a small smile underneath his surgical mask as he shook his offered hand. "I like your determination, Nakamura-san – and like you, I too wanna be a part of the legacy of this school. So . . ."

He turned to both Inori and Mashiro, waiting for their confirmation.

". . . Shall we make a strategy to pass?"

* * *

(Friday, 15th April, 10: 57 a.m.)

"Wow, this place is soooooooo huge!" Mashiro ran around the gigantic race course with his arms spread open, marvelling at everything. "I can't even see the other examination sites from here!" The course was situated on an incredibly large and long platform at quite a distance from the main campus. Giggling to himself with a flushed face, he mumbled "I wonder how much chaos is gonna happen? I wonder how much killing I can do?"

"Are you sure you're okay without shoes, Tetsuya-san?" Akaname looked a little disturbed by the girl walking on her bare feet. "You may get hurt or worse, acquire an infection . . ."

"This is the best way to make use of my claws" she firmly stated, looking completely unperturbed. "I don't want to cause any unnecessary damage to any socks or shoes."

"I-I see . . ."

The examination for all sites was set to begin at sharp 11 and the hundred and twenty kids were allowed to map out and observe their surroundings for five minutes. Many of them had decided to form into teams while some stood alone, confident in their own abilities. As Akaname ran over his strategy for a second time, Kenio couldn't help staring at a tall, jade-haired boy who stood a little distance away with his toned back facing them. The ginger realised this was the boy who had called out the fight between him and the delinquent.

' _He looks really . . . strong . . .'_

"Nakamura-san, are you paying attention?"

"Eh?" The freckled boy turned towards Akaname, hurriedly nodding at the boy's expectant stare. "Yes, I remember, I remember! When Tetsuya-san takes flight, I must-"

However, a sharp buzz, similar to the one that had disrupted Present Mic's speech, resonated throughout the area. "All students! Attention, all students!" Everyone turned to the microphone that projected the voice of the blond Pro Hero. "We are now finally beginning the UA entrance exam!" Along the long race course, different coloured robots immediately began popping up. Everyone's previously blank wrist watches were now set at 0 points. "Go grab those 100 points and race to the end to be a part of Japan's No. 1 Hero school, UA!"

"Get set . . ."

A pink haze slowly began to gather around the serious Akaname.

Mashiro grinned widely as white protrusions began to grow out of his body.

Kenio began moving his fingers quickly through the air, bringing colours to life.

Inori's limbs had turned into large black claws and from her back, jutted out black wings, tearing through her P.E. uniform.

". . . BEGIN!"

* * *

(Exam Site No. 1)

"Out of my way, scum!" Jigoku had to quickly sidestep to the left to prevent being crushed by the tall lamia that'd launched her way brutally into battle, immediately grabbing two 5-pointers with her strong scarlet tail. In one single go, she'd crushed both the robots and gained 10 points.

"I don't want these minions – GIVE ME SOMETHING STRONG!" she screamed, slithering away at a fast pace. As soon as the girl had launched herself, she'd unknowingly led everyone into attack and everywhere the amethyst-haired boy looked, people were attacking the robots.

"My, my, looks like there's no time to take it easy" he smirked, pulling out two cards from the tattoos embedded on the skin of his forearm – and once armed, he dashed off.

"HIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" A boy made of solid metal crashed into two 10-pointers, which had been somehow bound together and locked by chains that'd an intricate looking lock assigned to them. The boy looked up at the girl following him, grinning "Kita, let's go to our next targets! Keep up the good work!" And he proceeded to get up and take off without her.

"Seriously?!" she sighed in exasperation, sprinting after him. "We're supposed to be working together, Jobu!"

* * *

(Exam Site No. 3)

"I'm gonna crush all of you weeds!" A spread of small, pointed crystals fired rapidly at a group of 10-pointers, immediately putting them down on the floor. The emerald-haired delinquent sported a smug smile – this was gonna be easy.

"And help Hara-san pass the entrance."

"And help Hara-san pass the entrance . . . Wait, what?!" He nodded happily to himself – before suddenly realising what he was saying. However, it was too late by then, since a petite boy with short, black curls had crushed half of the robot heads with his shoes, getting half of the points the taller boy had amassed.

"HARA, YOU-" Sharp crystal blades began jutting out from the demonically enraged boy's palms.

"Come with me. We shall defeat many robots and pass the entrance together" the shorter boy calmly repeated.

"-Come with me!" the delinquent pointed at himself with a proud smile, running. "We shall defeat many robots and pass the entrance together!" And just like that, he was off with the shorter boy following behind.

"Thanks a lot, Kenshi-kun" Hara muttered under his breath. "You're such a great friend."

* * *

(Exam Site No. 2)

"Tetsuya-san, up ahead!"

The winged girl swerved gracefully through the air in order to dodge the 20 pointer's sword strike, Akaname clinging to her for dear life – but once they were near the robot, he'd released his Quirk and pink flames sprung to life, vaporising its weapons till not a trace remained. Once Inori realised it was defenceless, she immediately attacked it with a flurry of powerful kicks with her clawed legs and it was on the ground within a minute, awarding the two with 10 points each. Once done, she flew off again, carrying her pink-haired partner.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Kenio had animated a cartoonish bike for fast transport and was now speeding it down the obstacle course, Mashiro sitting beside him and waving his arms around. "Ne, Keni-chi, I see a 20-pointer over there! Let's go and chaotically kill it!"

The ginger sped up and crashed into the tall blue robot with his bike, unbalancing it – seeing his chance, Mashiro jumped up with a gleeful smile. With his Quirk, he'd jutted out his bones through tiny pores in his skin and was now wielding them like thin spears, moving around with such unpredictable movements that even the robot had to stand still to figure out the boy's pattern.

"Confused?" The boy spoke to the robot, constantly moving from left to right to avoid the dual sword movements of the robot – one moment, he was rushing from the left and the other he'd swerved to the right, the bladed sword missing his hair by an inch. Grinning widely, Mashiro used one of his bony protrusions to penetrate a small gap in the sword, causing the robot to pull him up along with his blade.

"You should be! AHAHAHAHAHAHA, CHAOS, CHAOS!" The boy laughed as soon as he was face to face with it, using his other arm and bone-spear to repeatedly stab the robot in the eye, breaking through the steel after several attempts until the spear had broken all through the robot's head, coming out of the back of its head. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Mashiro continued laughing even as the robot collapsed to the ground, taking him down with it.

Fortunately, Kenio had quickly animated a small trampoline that caught him in time. "Madou-san, please be more careful!" he worriedly quipped at the still laughing boy, who slowly got off the trampoline, having a very flushed grin on his face.

"Madou-san, try not to break any bones before we reach the finish line, please?!" Akaname yelled from high above as he and Inori continued towards the finish line.

Mashiro got behind Kenio on the bike and they were soon speeding off, with the white-haired boy wrapping his arms around the ginger's waist. "It's Shiro, Keni-chi. Call me Shiro, ne~?"

* * *

ED 1 **– No Title by Reol**

 **(To the people I still haven't replied to yet, please be a little more patient! I still have one spot left in the SYOC which is why I've left some OCs to consideration for that one spot. I shall contact you soon when I've decided which OC gets the spot)**

 **Also, a big, BIG THANK YOU to all those who took their precious time off to send me OCs, wrote reviews, favorited, followed and read my story! Thank you so much for your support and I hope I continue to entertain you guys with my story!**


	3. Ch 2 - Battle for Points!

OP 1 – **Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Battle for Points!**

(Friday, 15th April, 11:29 a.m. – Exam Site No. 2)

"Oh man, I'm so glad for all of that training I did during middle school!" Kenio rasped as Mashiro helped him climb up all the way to the top – the ragtag group of four had just managed to halfway finish through the first obstacle of the race course, a large rock climbing wall that easily stood at a height of at least twenty metres.

"I and Tetsuya-san are both at 50 points" Akaname finally let go of Inori and jumped down on the flat plain that was at the top of the wall. "How much do the both of you have?"

"40 each" Kenio muttered with a disappointed sigh. "I really thought we'd get more than this though."

"Well, it actually figures" the light-haired boy rubbed his chin between his thumb and index finger. "Considering the amount of students compared to the amount of robots, it's no wonder we got just half the required points despite being in the lead. And we've only seen the first three robot types till now . . . I think the other two types are gonna be available only after we reach to a later part of the course."

"To weed out the weaker students" Inori quietly confirmed.

"Exactly" Akaname agreed.

"Well, it doesn't matter how many types there are or how strong they are!" Mashiro giggled, waving his bony appendages around and almost stabbing the nearby Kenio in the eye. "All we have to do is kill them, right?" He cupped his face with both hands as a bright red blush settled across his nose and cheeks, his eyes lost somewhere faraway. "Uuuu, I can't wait to stab more and more and more and more of them!"

The way he childishly spoke about such violent things understandably unsettled the other three.

"Madou-san . . ." Akaname was left speechless while Kenio just awkwardly laughed. "Anyway," changing topics, the unofficial group leader continued, "How much more can you all use your Quirks?"

"I can still animate a whole bunch of stuff as long as it's nothing gigantic like a house or plane!" Kenio replied cheerfully.

"I can bring out all of my bones if you guys want!" Mashiro creepily smiled with his offer.

Akaname looked incredibly scandalised as he sputtered, "N-No need for something like that, Madou-san! Please, _don't ever_ do something like that!" The poor boy shivered so hard at the mere suggestion of it that even Mashiro reassured him it was just a joke.

"I can easily maintain my partial transformation until the exam ends," Inori said, trying to divert his attention.

"R-Right," the boy composed himself, awarding her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for being a burden on you but my athletic skills are not much better than a joke," he honestly confessed.

"It's not an exertion," the girl replied "Besides, you're already doing all the strategizing."

"That's right!" Kenio gently patted him on the back. "We wouldn't have come together without you, Shimizu-san! We'd probably be struggling to collect points in a disorganised way down there!" He pointed to where the last remnants of the examinees were fighting amongst themselves for the remaining robots. Most of the students were already climbing up the slope and a scant few had reached the top and were now preparing for the descent.

"Aka-chi is an amazing leader!" Mashiro hugged him before chuckling, "Even though he can be a lecturing boar most of the time!"

"Thank you, everyone, I– I'M NOT A LECTURING BOAR!" Inori thought she almost saw a pout under that thin surgical mask. "Really, now . . ." the white-haired boy seemed to be having a good laugh at his expense. "Alright, break time's over!" He clapped his hands and turned towards Kenio. "Nakamura-san," the ginger immediately stood to attention, "I want you to animate a paraglide for now so you and Madou-san can descend without wasting any time on climbing down."

"I'll get right to it!" The freckled boy energetically replied before going away at some distance to animate, Mashiro skipping after him. The way he painted in the air and brought multiple colours and designs to life . . . Inori found it strangely captivating, even if the creations themselves looked like they'd come straight out of a children's cartoon show.

She was so absorbed in watching the paraglide come to life and Mashiro's cheers that she did not notice the student walking into her unless their shoulders had hit against each other.

A tall boy with dark green hair passed by right in front of her, locks slicked back with gel over a diamond-shaped, firm-jawed face. A golden necklace with a sword motif swayed in front of her, hitting her with a wave of nostalgia from where it was fastened around his neck.

 _( "This is something . . . very precious to me." )_

A memory from long ago.

The boy turned to look at her with empty cerulean eyes. "You're in my way, Inori." It was only a glance and one sentence but behind those tiny gestures, she could feel the sorrow of a million pained souls.

"Fuma . . ." But he was gone, striding towards the descent slope.

"You know Kanashimi-san, Tetsuya-san?" Akaname questioned as he and Inori watched the boy powerfully climb down the rocky wall with inhuman speed, a faint blue aura glowing around him.

She nodded. "A childhood acquaintance." Some more examinees had started climbing down.

"Excuse me, slowpokes!" A tall blonde skated through the crowd at extreme speed, equipped with wheel-like ornaments expanding out of her ankles. Kenio and Mashiro both gaped after her, awed by the control the ponytail girl had over her Quirk as she slid down the steep slope without losing balance.

Bracing himself, Kenio quickly put the finishing touches on his paraglide and waved, "We're done here!" Inori activated her claws and wings and scooped up Akaname again. Once he'd affirmed, both duos began their descent – the robots had started appearing again on the other side of the first obstacle.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Mashiro cheered loudly, very much enjoying the feeling of the cool breeze against his face. "Your Quirk is the best, Keni-chi!" The ginger grinned – he really needed to hear something like that.

As soon as they landed, multiple green, yellow and blue robots piled up. Both Fuma and the blonde ponytail girl, along with some others, had started attacking the robots to quickly rack up points. "I'm not gonna fall back!" Kenio exclaimed, quickly animating a sturdy metal baseball bat and rushing amongst the robot fest.

"CHAOS, CHAOS, SO MUCH LIVELY, EXCITING CHAOS!" Mashiro screamed, using his bone spears to stab through the heads of two 5-pointers at the same time. Noticing a fresh playground filled with toys, he barked out a gleeful shriek before rushing off to join his friend.

Inori and Akaname had, meanwhile, managed to engage two 20 pointers at the same time. "Just a little closer, Tetsuya-san!" the boy requested – it was hard to control the accuracy of his Quirk unless he was closer to his targets. However, the combined sword movement of two robots was harder to elude, especially when the silver-eyed girl was carrying someone in her claws.

Suddenly, an idea flashed to her.

"Shimizu," the boy snapped his attention to her, "I'm gonna be letting you go for a short while."

"Eh?" However, before he could ask for clarifications, Inori retracted her claws away from him and Akaname was suddenly free falling from several metres up in the air, heading straight towards the blue 20-pointer. "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" He let out a rather unmanly scream before landing a little harshly on his butt . . .

. . . Right on the robot's shoulder.

"TETSUYA-SAN!" His Quirk activated and soon, his pink flames had encased around the swords and shield of the robot, evaporating right before it could hit Akaname with one of them. As soon as it was rid of its weapons, Inori grabbed the boy off its shoulders and as he clung to her with his arms tight around her neck, she grabbed the Robot's head with both her claws and with some effort, pulled it right off.

"Please warn me the next time you do something like that!" He looked to be on the verge of tears – seriously, his fellow examinees had him more distraught than the actual exam. Inori, however, quickly moved towards the second 20 pointer.

But just before she could reach it, the Robot burst into flames. Akaname yelped and quickly released his Quirk – the pink gas vaporised all the stray embers that could've burnt the duo.

And in front of the burning metal stood a neon-blue haired boy, his messy locks flutteringly slightly in the breeze while one of his palms rested on a respirator pulled over his lower face.

"I'm sorry! I hope you guys didn't get hurt?" His voice came out deformed due to the respirator but there was genuine worry in it.

"We're alright but please let out a warning next time!" Akaname was definitely a little triggered. "If you have such a destructive Quirk, you should be more careful with it!"

The respirator boy looked a little taken aback but his red eyes softened. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I'll be a little more careful next time." And with that and a wave, he was off, the flames of the burning robot slowly simmering down.

"We should go too, Tetsuya-san", he prodded Inori. She nodded and began flying again, heading towards Mashiro and Kenio.

". . . You know," she commented after a while, grabbing Akaname's attention. "He looked a bit saddened."

The pink-haired male looked momentarily confused by her words before realisation dawned on him. "Well, I'm genuinely sorry if my words hurt him but there are some Quirks which need to be regulated properly by their users. Otherwise . . . they can severely hurt others." He looked so solemn as he spoke this that Inori felt at a loss for words.

' _Everyone has been hurt in life, haven't they? I wonder . . . why.'_

"Shimizu-san, Tetsuya-san!" Kenio was waving at them from the ground near a group of destroyed robots – Mashiro was repeatedly stabbing a 10 pointer through the chest, giggling happily to himself. "I and Madou-san have both got 70 points each! What about you both?"

Akaname sighed as Inori put him down. "We were only able to defeat a 20 pointer so we're only at 60 right now." He felt a little irritated at the respirator boy for having taken one of their targets but berated himself for thinking so negatively – it's not like he'd stolen one of their kills or something. Both he and Inori hadn't done any damage to the robot so it'd still been a free target.

Kenio patted him on the shoulder and rooted, "Don't get so down, Shimizu-san!" His smile was lively and full of optimism. "We still have a lot of opportunities to rake in more points and two more obstacles to go through so we can't lose hope that easily!"

' _That's right . . . what's wrong with me?'_ Giving himself an internal berating, Akaname smiled at his freckled friend. "Thanks again, Nakamura-san! You're the much needed morale booster of our group!" He grabbed Kenio's fist in both his hands and announced, "We **will** pass this exam! All four of us . . . together!"

"Yeah!" Kenio smiled back.

For some reason, the scene before Inori's eyes . . .

 _( "We're gonna win this together! All six of us!" )_

' _It's kinda nice to look at.'_

"Not to be the party-pooper but," Mashiro seemed to have got bored as he dawdled over to the group, "We'll kinda get left behind at this rate."

"Eh?" The white-haired boy was pointing towards a large number of the examinees who were already making their way to the second obstacle.

"Dash, everyone!" Inori quickly grabbed Akaname while Kenio animated the fastest bicycle he'd ever drawn in his life and sped off with Mashiro cheering behind.

* * *

(Exam Site No. 3)

Hara had initially been at a loss when he'd first encountered the incredibly tall rock climbing wall – his mind influence over Kenshi had essentially become defunct once the boy had realised what his ex-classmate had been trying to do. So while the emerald-haired male had started agilely climbing the wall using crystal protrusions as wall picks on his palms and feet, the short boy had begun analysing his other options. He had somehow been able to amass 45 points so far with Kenshi's help and through 'influencing' certain other simple-minded individuals but now . . .

Suddenly, he caught sight of a rather unique looking student with abnormally long and thick hair that dragged along the ground as they ran. A sneaky light shone in his gray eyes as a brilliant idea unfurled itself to him.

' _Hosh, hosh,'_ Rokuro Kannagi slowly but steadily pulled himself up the rock climbing wall, his thick, long mane of dark brown locks trailing itself up behind him. However, he suddenly felt a strange pressure on his hair and when he prepared to look down-

' _Someone must've just stepped on it.'_

' _Someone must've just stepped on it,'_ he shrugged to himself, distracted by the bigger task at hand – Hara, meanwhile, had grabbed onto the boy's hair and used it as leverage to make his climb easier, mentally congratulating himself at his risky manoeuvre. He'd gambled the assumption of the hair being a part of the guy's Quirk and therefore being stronger and more durable than normal hair. Thankfully, that gamble had paid off and he could now hitch a ride without exhausting himself too much.

"1, 2! 1, 2!" Next to Hara and his hitched ride, an incredibly petite girl with beautifully braided rose-coloured hair was climbing up the wall, the gigantic black spider legs on her back grabbing onto the small and sharp rocks with expert precision. Her doll-like face and large violet eyes were scrunched up in concentration as she maintained a steadfast chant under her breath. "1, 2! 1, 2!"

' _Well,'_ noticing that they weren't even halfway up, he decided to kick back for a bit. _'Looks like it's gonna take a while.'_

(Friday, 15th April, 11:35 a.m. – Control Room)

"What?!" Cellophane almost fell back from surprise. "Someone already reached the finish line?!"

"Yes, seems like it." The Screen from Exam Site No. 3 zoomed to a fairly tall boy with ultramarine hair that stood up in straight, uneven spikes, his P.E. Uniform ripped over the right places to show off a compact and muscular physique with thick biceps and muscular thighs. He seemed to be staring right into the camera with coldly glinting neon blue eyes.

On Aizawa's command, a staff member played the camera recordings that showcased his test. "Looks like he managed to gather 40 points before shooting straight over the three obstacles and hurtling right into a red 50 pointer that exploded on contact with him." The screen showcased the boy defeating a multitude of 5 and 10 pointers through crash-and-evade techniques, before breaking off into a powerful run and propelling himself through the air, right over the tall rock climbing wall, the deep and long swimming pool and the mini Grand Crevasse. On the other side of the Grand Crevasse, he had manoeuvred his body to hit the gigantic 50-pointer which had resulted in a large explosion, causing both the boy and the robot to crash heavily to the ground.

"Phwoo," Cellophane whistled, "That looks like it hurt quite a bit!"

"He sort of reminded me of Midoriya-kun in that instant," Tsukuyomi commented, deep in thought. The mentioned Hero laughed awkwardly but was immensely worried for the boy's physical condition.

"However, although hurt, he managed to take out two 5 pointers nearby and reach the finish line." True to the examiner's report, the boy brutally caught and crushed two unfortunate green robots that were nearby and reached the finish line, lightly limping.

"Send out the medical staff and take him to the infirmary." As soon as Aizawa barked orders, one of the examiners made a telephone call. "Let him rest until the entrance results ceremony."

"Looks like he's called Itou Haruka." The three ex-UA students were huddled over the boy's file – although he looked more well-kept in the picture, his hair was still up in the style of uncontrollable spikes and the coldness of his eyes was visible even in the picture. "Woah, that's quite a nice Quirk!" Cellophane complimented, looking impressed.

"Looks like he can give Iida-kun a run for his money," Tsukuyomi added.

Meanwhile, Deku had turned his attention back to the screens, where all the other students were still fighting for the coveted seats of Japan's top Hero school. _'Only 39 more spots to go. Who are the ones that'll rise to be the pinnacle supporters of the next generation of Heroes?'_

* * *

 **Student: Kenio Nakamura**

 **Quirk: Toon Force**

 **With his Quirk, Kenio can animate any living or non-living to life or give animated properties to any living or non-living thing. The things he animates are noted to be stronger than their real life counterparts.**

 **P.S: As a child he lived in the U.S.A so he has a lot of knowledge about American cartoons!**

* * *

(Exam Site No. 1)

The tall lamia stared at the rock climbing wall in front of her with disdainful eyes, her wine-coloured hair writhing around in annoyance around her shoulders, mimicking the impatient slithers of her thick, long crimson tail. Kazumi Enoshima had already managed to collect a whopping 60 points but if she wasn't able to cross this fake, protrusion-laden wall, she might as well give her sensor bracelet to someone else.

"Issssn't there a wayyyyy IIIII can crosssss it?" She chewed on her lower lip, sulphuric yellow eyes narrowed as she thought of a plan. Many people who'd been behind her had already started climbing the wall and she was slowly beginning to lose her thin amount of patience, having half a mind to strike everyone down and break the whole wall farce.

' _No, calm down Kazumi . . . and THINK.'_ She needed to get into UA – she needed to keep her promise to him, the only semblance of light in her life. Raking in a deep breath to calm herself, she scanned the whole area – the obstacle course was on a platform that was at least five metres off the ground. Leaving the course would either get her expelled or even if that was allowed, she'd lose out on a majority of time while climbing down and then again rising up those five metres. There were no gaps in the formation she could slither through and digging underground through solid concrete was impossible. Climbing the wall? She couldn't even think of it. With her tail, it would take her more than two hours _considering_ she didn't fall.

As time continued ticking and people kept on crossing the first obstacle, the tawny lamia clenched her nails into fists. Maybe . . . she'd have to give up. For someone with a mutant Quirk like hers to climb such a steep wall-

 _( "So you'll be a Hero someday?!" )_

What was she _thinking_?!

Kazumi snapped her eyes open and scanned the surroundings once more. Although the wall was situated on the race course and there were no middle gaps or sideways she could squeeze through, there was still _something_ she could try.

Jigoku wiped the sweat off his brow once he'd reached the top of the wall, taking a breather for a minute. His Quirk was useless when it came to muscle work like this and he could only depend on the training his mentor had given him. He scanned the area to take in as much information as possible, spotting what seemed to be a giant swimming pool in the distance . . . definitely the second obstacle. Examinees had already started descending down the rocky wall while some were still struggling to defeat the robots near the starting line, most likely due to lack of points.

' _Well, I'm lucky I managed to already score almost half the requirement.'_ He was currently satisfied with his score of 45 but knew not to grow laidback otherwise someone would steal one of the top eight positions before he could. Preparing himself for a rapid descent, Jigoku was about to step down before he noticed something strange near the left edge of the rock wall base.

When he realised what it was, his mahogany eyes widened. "Are you kidding me . . .?!" His dark lips widened in an impressed grin.

The busty lamia girl was slithering over the edge of the rock wall, half of her body hanging over the periphery of the tall platform – moving very slowly and carefully while using the rocky protrusions for support. One accidental slip and she would probably have the most painful fall of her life. However, Jigoku was impressed by her quick-thinking and boldness and determined himself to not be left behind, he slid down and began descending at a faster pace than before.

"Kita, those three next!" Already on the ground, the silver-haired, athletic Jobu and his female turquoise-haired companion were moving rapidly amidst the battle, having built up a simple but effective strategy to take down multiple robots in one move (thanks to Kita).

"Yeah!" The girl affirmed as she ran towards a trio of two 10 pointers and a 5 pointer, dodging the tasers shot at her with skilful acrobatic movements, her ribbon-tied braid swinging along with her fast movements. One of the robots almost caught her but missed by a hair's breadth – it was times like these she was thankful she had opted for a short, fluffy bob as a hairstyle. However, using the opening caused by the missing robot, she touched all three with her index finger, activating her Quirk.

Immediately, the three metal bodies were bound together by a thick chain and rendered immovable, a lock with a four digit code appearing to hold the chain together. "Move back!" As soon as she was a considerable distance away, Jobu jumped at the targets with a war-like cry of "ORYAAAAAAAAAAAA!" His fists, which had become solid parts of steel, glowed red hot and immediately decimated the poor robots on impact.

"YOSH, GOOD WORK KITA!" The boy cheered with joy, regressing back to his normal state – even his voice had lost its metallic tinge.

"Jobu, you're hurting me." Kita's words fell on deaf ears as the boy continued excitedly patting her on the back.

"You are certainly loud and ungraceful."

"Huh?" Both looked up in confusion towards the person who'd announced this – a person who was staring at them with a look of complete disdain and contempt. The outspoken figure was a slim girl of average height and what could be described as a beautiful face but with a condescending smirk marring it. She flipped her chocolate-coloured ringlets, styled into long, low twintails and decorated with intricate red silk ribbons, while walking towards them.

"No grace or finesse in your movements – just brute, unpolished strength, like that of a wild beast's." She passed by them, her ringlets trailing after her as she made her way straight towards a duo of 20 pointers some other examinees were struggling with.

"Wait." A look of realisation flashed through Kita's dark eyes. "Aren't you-"

"And who the hell are you?!" Jobu cut in through her sentence, certainly looking very insulted – he had unconsciously hardened into his steel form and his metallic skin seemed to be slowly heating up.

The girl almost fell. "Y-You mean you don't know me?!" She pivoted back on her heels to gasp at him, thickly lashed fuchsia eyes impossibly wide.

"Jo-" Kita tried to cut in but he didn't hear it again.

"Hell no!" He stepped towards her challengingly, heat practically radiating from his body, both due to his exercise and her insults.

A vein seemed to visibly pop on the girl's forehead. "Well," her voice seemed to be under great strain, "T-That doesn't matter." The 20 pointers seemed to have defeated a group of examinees who were now lying exhausted on the ground – and when they saw the trio of students nearby, they immediately advanced towards them. The brunette's smirk widened as she said "Because now, you will know who I am."

"What the he-" Jobu was about to advance towards the girl but he was immediately pulled back by his friend. "Kita, what the hell?!" he yelled but was a little taken aback by the girl's expression.

"Jobu, let's go and find some other targets," she tried to give him an assuring smile but it was cracked around the edges.

"Why?!" He pulled away, turning towards the blue 20 pointers that'd been advancing towards them. "There's some he-"

However, as soon as he'd turned around, he was greeted with the sight of a gigantic tree trunk inflating right in front of his eyes. Within seconds, the thick and sturdy branches had pushed into the robots, breaking through them with their powerful roots and rendering them completely useless. The two examinees stared with awed expressions as the brunette smirked victoriously, the trunk violently regressing in size till it was just a tiny branch on the girl's palm.

As the robots toppled noisily to the ground, now nothing but broken pieces of useless metal, she swerved and turned towards the duo, flipping her ringlets. "I am Nishiya Asuna – daughter of famous Pro Heroes Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady!" Her fuchsia eyes glistened like jewels underneath the bright sunlight.

"And Japan's No. 1 future Pro Hero!"

"Woah, isn't that Asuna-chan?! That _is_ Asuna-chan!" Unbeknownst to the laughing girl, she was being watched by a pair of dark, tapered eyes. "I should go and say hi to her-Whoops!"

The green-haired boy barely dodged the taser of a nearby 10 pointer by quickly sidestepping – however, using his left leg as a balance pole, he swung around with his right knee and hit with such a clean kick it was down in one go.

As his watch flashed 40 points, he grabbed his hurt knee and began hopping on one foot, laughing through the pained tears that peeked from his eyes. "Ahahahahaha, that hurt quite a bit! You really were quite strong, little buddy!" He flashed a thumbs up to the still robot before running off in the search for more targets.

"If I don't amass 60 points somehow, I'm really gonna fail! Ahahahahahahaha, and then mom's gonna send me to Ketsu-I-can't'-pronounce-it-properly academy!" The boy ran carefree like the wind, narrowly dodging a person who almost hit him with his water Quirk and a 20 pointer that almost fell on him. However, an idea popping up in his head, the boy ran backwards towards the fallen robot and snatched one of its reinforced plastic swords.

"Look at me! I have pulled out Excalibur from the stone and now me, King Arthur, shall bring down divine punishment on all you heathens!" The boy announced, a happy glint in his eyes, as he chased after a group of 5 pointers who seemed to run away from him in genuine fright.

"Man, is that guy whacked in the head or something?!" one of the examinees asked his teammate.

"He's the son of Ms. Joke, after all," the other guy shrugged as if that explained everything.

* * *

(Friday, 15th April, 11:42 a.m.)

"Oh my God, Koji-kun!" In the control room, a quartet of Pro Heroes and some of the UA staff were looking over the examination screen, keeping a track of the many who'd damaged their sensor bracelets and were now officially disqualified. Deku had forgotten his coffee cup as he excitedly looked over all the battles, his shining eyes currently focused on a boy with hair coloured a familiar shade of sea-foam. "It really is Koji-kun!"

"Aizawa-sensei, no fair!" Cellophane turned to his ex-teacher who was currently leaning against the wall, much less interested in the entrance test than his former students. "You didn't tell us that Koji-kun was giving the entrance for UA!" The Taping Hero turned towards the screen where the green-haired boy had just beat a bunch of 10 pointers. "I thought Ms. Joke wanted him to attend Ketsubetsu?"

"I managed to convince that ardent woman, somehow," Eraserhead replied, looking exhausted (even more than he usually did) at the mere memory of that event. "Well, she did say she'll immediately pull him out as soon as she sees U.A. isn't up to the task of harnessing his talent."

"We won't let that happen!" Deku quipped in passionately. "We'll make sure to draw out the true skill and potential of every single student we have!" He smiled reassuringly. "Emi-san won't have a chance to complain!"

Aizawa stared at him through one open eye. "Well, that is considering he gets accepted." Despite fighting valiantly, it did seem like Koji was struggling a little.

"His Quirk certainly isn't very suitable for this chaotic ballroom of metallic dance," Tsukuyomi remarked in a deeply prophetic tone. _'Tokoyami-kun's never gonna change his speech style, is he?'_ Deku and Cellophane's thoughts ran simultaneous.

"That's why it's the ideal test of his abilities and his resolve," the black-haired man stated, watching his son with a more intense expression than before. "To subdue enemies his Quirk won't work on . . . that's a major test Koji must pass if he ever hopes to become a true Hero."

Deku swallowed, a sombre expression settling on his face. _'That's right. Sometimes, our Quirks aren't effective alone. That's why, we must learn how to work with others and learn to fight even without our Quirks!'_

"Eraserhead-san", one of the programmers in charge of overlooking the test swivelled around on his chair, "Is it now time to send out Type 5?"

Aizawa checked the wall clock near the screens – it'd been a little over forty five minutes since the test had begun and almost all of the other robots had been exhausted by the students and most of them were halfway across the course.

Deku, Tsukuyomi and Cellophane were immensely terrified of the brutal grin that blossomed on their ex-teacher's face.

"Yeah," the man affirmed, dark eyes holding sadistic mirth. "Send them out."

* * *

(Exam Site No. 2)

"I'm so sorry, Tetsuya-san but my creations are useless in water."

"I already said it's no problem," Inori muttered in as expressionless a voice as ever as she flew over the second obstacle which consisted of a large swimming pool that measured at least 50 feet in length. Her wings flapped powerfully as she carried three boys well above the air – each of her claws were wrapped around Kenio and Akaname while Mashiro had has grip tight around her waist.

"We really owe Tetsuya-san for this," guilt lacerated Akaname's words. "Carrying three males must be both uncomfortable and taxing on your body."

"It's not taxing but I wish Madou wouldn't move around so much," she mumbled in an inaudible voice. Saying he was touching her _there_ was too uncomfortable.

"Wow, I'm flying! I'm flying!" The snow-haired boy was so absorbed in enjoying the view below that he was completely unaware of the fact that his head was bumping against Inori's breasts every time he moved. "You may be socially inept and abnormally inexpressive but you're amazing, Nori-chi!" He gave her the sweetest smile from, completely unhindered by the fact he'd just insulted her and that he was essentially facing her from right below her chest.

"Madou-san, please have some respect!" Akaname immediately reprimanded, mistaking Inori's speechless silence for passive hurt. "You are insulting the very person who is doing us a very great favour! Altering and modifying your bone weapons must've increased your body weight – not only will that greatly reduce your swimming abilities but Tetsuya-san also-"

However, his speech was completely cut off by a gigantic figure appearing out of the water and heading straight for the flying Inori. Both Kenio and Akaname let out startled yells as Mashiro bunched his knees to his chest, barely missing the grabbing fingers of the red-coloured 50-pointer. The black-haired girl flew higher before descending rapidly to the ground, finally across the second obstacle.

"The 50-pointers! Damn, they're huge!"

"Uhuh, I'm gonna drown!"

"Man, are the surprises ever gonna end?!"

As Mashiro and Kenio tried to stabilise themselves from the rather jerky flight by taking a breather on the ground, Akaname, who was as composed as Inori, exclaimed, "I'd never thought they'd be hidden underwater!" True to his words, a handful of the 50-pointers were wading through the deep pool waters reminiscent to that of Godzilla, causing many of the examinees who were in the pool to lose their balance or drown. The pink-haired boy seemed rather aghast as he rushed towards them, yelling, "People are gonna get hurt! We have to save them-!"

"Wait."

"Huh?" he was a little confused by the restraining hand Inori put on his shoulder, tempted to reprimand her for stopping him from helping other people.

"There's no need for that." He followed her gaze with confusion but it was alleviated when he saw the many black-suited staff on standby near the premises, standing on top of the long side rails that ran along their course and watching the events with alert eyes. "I'm sure they'll take care of anyone if they need any help." Akaname was still a little unconvinced. "But more importantly . . . Do you notice how many robots there are?"

The boy looked up with slanted black eyes before they widened with realization. He counted under his breath, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 . . . That's it." The end of his sentence had an edge of horror to it. The robots were getting out of the pool and many people had already started attacking them. _'At this rate, the points are gonna all get divided up!'_ The panicked boy turned towards his other two teammates. "Nakamura-san, Madou-san!"

Mashiro was quiet but looked slightly better than Kenio whose face had paled a little, likely due to vertigo. "W-We're okay!" The ginger nevertheless flashed him an optimistic thumbs up.

' _I really wanna let them rest but . . .!'_ The bespectacled teen knew they had to act fast or they were going to lose a good chunk of points. "I and Tetsuya-san are gonna draw it here!" Akaname immediately hopped into her arms as she took flight. "Get ready to ambush it!"

Mashiro looked after them both, whistling light-heartedly. "Aka-chi is really high strung right now, ain't he?" For a moment, his eyes seemed to lose their carefree light. "He needs to loosen up a little or he might . . . just . . . lose . . . his . . . head."

Inori and Akaname were headed straight towards the closest robot, the first one to get out of the swimming pool. However, before the pair could do anything, they saw a familiar blue-haired figure near the robot. "Fujita-san, just a little more!" It was the boy with the respirator mask.

"Leave it to me~!" He was with a small-figured girl whose baby blue, poofy curls were floating towards the sky, almost like the tendrils of a lava lamp. As she sang out her reply, the robot suddenly slid towards where the blue-haired duo stood, almost as if . . . pulled by something. _'No doubt that girl's gravity related Quirk!'_ Her floating hair was all the proof he needed.

The boy on the ground, not having noticed his audience, turned to his partner once the robot was close enough. As the 25-feet tall red giant raised a fist to smash him, the girl had skipped away at a good distance and the boy removed his mask. "Now there's no need to hold back."

Even from the distance, Akaname and Inori both noticed a magenta coloured gas emerge from the boy's mouth and swarm towards the robot. The gas seemed to be inactive but when the boy lit a matchstick and threw it at the giant, everything clicked – in no time, it'd burst into flames. They were only a small spark at first but the boy breathed out more gas and soon, the metal monster was engulfed in flames from head to toe, falling over with a loud crash, rendered completely immobile.

"Woah, that boy decimated it in no time! How cool and chaotic!" Mashiro's fawning flush was a direct contrast to the intimidated and overwhelmed expression on Kenio's face.

As Inori watched the two successful examinees exchange happy hi-fives, she could feel Akaname shake in her arms, his eyes now no more narrowed slants.

That calm, smiling boy hiding behind the respirator . . .

"What a destructive Quirk."

* * *

ED 1 – **No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **Thank you to everyone for your kind reviews – the encouraging words, your thoughts, ideas, criticisms and feelings regarding the story empower me to write more and (hopefully) improve with each chapter. I cannot thank all my readers enough! Also, congratulations to those who made it into Class 1-A! You guys made amazing, well-written OCs and I'm going to do my best to bring them to life! (The Accepted OCs list is available on my profile so please do check it out when you have time!)**

 **Also, I deeply apologise to those whose characters could not make it to the main cast but thank you so much for your hard work and support! I plan to flesh out every character as much as I can and your characters will not go to waste!**


	4. Ch 3 - With Flying Colours!

OP 1 – **Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 – With Flying Colours!**

(Friday, 15th April, 12:01 p.m. – Exam Site No. 2)

Things were not looking good. Things were not looking good _at all._

"Hiyaaahhh, take that!" A stocky boy jumped up into the air and hit the 50-pointer with Quirk-enlarged feet while his teammates attacked it from below with a volley of combined hits.

"I'm not gonna let you off!" Someone battered another robot with a cement Quirk.

"Catch it, guys! Don't let it get away!" A third red-pointer, trapped with steel-like but flexible rope, toppled to the ground, causing a large water wave to spill outside the pool and surge over the obstacle course, drenching Kenio and Mashiro who stood nearby.

Akaname watched with horrified, bulging eyes roving everywhere down below, body frozen still. Large groups of people had started attacking the handful of 50 pointers and half of them were safely subdued. _'I and Tetsuya-san are at 75 points which means we need at least 25 points to pass.'_ He turned to look down at the sneezing Mashiro and the greatly peeved Kenio. _'Those two need 20 more . . . but . . . but-'_

There was not a single robot that was free from the onslaught of the desperate examinees.

"Shimizu! Tetsuya!" They looked down at their other two teammates – Kenio's face had an expression of volatile panic. "This is bad!" He yelled, tucking a wet side bang behind his ear. "There's not a single other robot in sight!" Akaname's eyes roved over the entire course once more, over the desperate students fighting for points, trapping the robots between them and striking fierce attacks for the coveted seats of U.A. And yet, except the handful of giant 50-pointers, not a single other robot could be found _anywhere_ on the course.

"W-Why . . . Why is this happening?" The usual assertiveness had disappeared from his voice, leaving behind a hollow echo.

Everywhere, people were working hard in organised groups to defeat the robots. Mashiro looked around in confusion while the ginger seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack, face overshadowed with nervousness. Inori descended to the ground to regroup while Akaname unconsciously got down on his feet, eyes narrowed in concentration as his thoughts ran apace.

' _What do I . . . no, what_ _ **can**_ _we do? Should we go back and defeat the other robots? No, they're probably all wiped out by now. Should we move ahead of the rest and check on the other side of the third obstacle? . . . But what if there're no more robots?'_ His mind began to organise itself steadily, running through plans, strategies and lines they could use to attack. _'No, there's a fifth type, right? Since it hasn't been revealed yet, it must be somewhere near the third obstacle. And if my conjecture is right, it should amount to-'_

Suddenly, the speakers around the area crackled to life, Present Mic's voice rupturing through them. "Ah, hello, hello, this is an announcement for examinees of Site No. 2!" For a moment, most of the examinees paused with bated breaths, wondering what this could be about. "We have received our first student! We have received our first passing student for Exam Site No. 2 so there are currently only 7 more seats left! Best of luck, everyone!"

At the very end of the obstacle course and below the Deku flag, the tall blonde with the long ponytail jumped up and down in the air, pirouetting on her ankle wheels with sheer happiness. "YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES, YES! I GOT INTO MOTHERFUCKING U.A! DID YOU HEAR THAT, EVERYONE?! I'M A PART OF U.A. NOW!" She screamed, pumping fists into the air, face flushed. "Mum and Dad are gonna be so fucking happy! WOOOOOHOOOOOO!"

Akaname, who was shortly frozen after the announcement, immediately set off into action. "Nakamura-san, Madou-san," he spoke with eyes full of fierce determination, "We're gonna make our way quickly towards the third obstacle! Now!"

"B-But our points?!" Kenio started, anxious and panicking. "We don't have en-!"

"Calm down, Nakamura-san!" Akaname firmly grasped his shoulders as a semblance of control. "I have a plan!"

"Maybe we should 'borrow' a robot from some people?" Mashiro suggested with a dangerous, unrecognisable glint in his eyes.

"No need for that!" the bespectacled boy all but snapped, indirectly hinting the two boys to let him complete his sentence. "There is a fifth type of robot as Present Mic mentioned, remember?" Looks of realisation flitted onto their faces as they nodded. "Now, at current, we know nothing about that robot but analysing the level of increase in points, I'll wager it's anything between 75 to even a 100 points."

"A 100?!" Kenio seemed to have regained much of his composure and optimism from that one sentence. "That means, if we take out two, or even one of that-"

The bespectacled boy nodded with a slight smile. "It'll be more than enough."

"We need to hurry," Inori finally broke her vow of silence – following her gaze, they saw many of the students were on the verge of defeating their targets, despite the robots fighting back. "Otherwise we'll be left behind again."

"But I'm worried," Kenio had already started animating as he spoke, his fingers moving smoothly through the air as various colours and black lines mingled to form solid shapes. "We know nothing about the fifth type . . . and if it's even stronger than the 50-pointers-"

"Guys, guys!" Mashiro cut into his sentence, voice filled with excitement as he tugged at Akaname's shirt.

"What is it _now_ , Madou-san?" The boy was desperately trying to keep his temper in check against the whimsical behaviour of his hyper companion.

"Look at them!" His index finger pointed towards the far distance in the direction of the third obstacle. "Don't they look super cool and badass?!" As the three turned around to follow his gesture, their eyes widened.

The third obstacle was a deep valley that disappeared underground. And near it . . .

Loomed two tall, ebony robots with sleek arms resting on broadswords, crimson eyes glinting as they levelled their gazes with the students staring at them.

"Engage them!"

Even before the words had left Akaname, both Kenio and Mashiro were skating towards the robots on cartoonish rollerblades the ginger had drawn directly on their feet, the latter twirling around the race course in excitement as he waved his bony weapons around. The bespectacled boy hung onto his black-haired ride tightly, watching the two robots with analytical eyes – they must've been around 10 to 12 feet in height with a lean body structure that was similar to the blue 20 pointers. But their large swords were what worried the pink-haired boy the most.

"I've caught you now~!" Mashiro announced, jumping towards one of the black robots and brandishing one of his boned weapons which he'd now shaped into a scythe. However, his drenched clothes made his movements more sluggish than before.

And so just before he could reach them, both robots jumped back, falling right into the third obstacle.

Mashiro stopped himself short of falling in as well, staring down the deep valley with disappointed eyes. Suddenly, a group of students jumped into the valley from behind him, being led by a boy with apparent Monkey-like features. "Attack them, guys!" he screamed, smirking at Mashiro as he expertly manoeuvred himself down the slope using his long limbs and lengthy tail in balanced tandem.

"Madou-san, quick!" Kenio grabbed the snow-haired boy by the hand before jumping into the third obstacle. Styled after a deep valley with sharply cut edges and ridged, barely angled slopes, the third obstacle seemed to run at least 30 feet deep. A parachute animated by Kenio made sure to break their fall smoothly – Inori and Akaname zipped past them, going straight for the nearer robot.

"No, you don't!" The girl almost flew into a large, sticky web drawn by a frowning examinee who had thread-like substances coming out of her fingers. The brunette glared heatedly at the black and pink-haired duo saved themselves from falling into her trap. Inori kept her distance, watching to see if the girl had anymore tricks up her sleeve.

"That's right, Tsukino!" The monkey-featured boy turned around during his run and stuck a tongue out at Inori and Akaname, eliciting a deep scowl from the latter. "Keep them trapped!" He and his squad had jumped at one of the robots, their Quirks all ready to attack.

"Something like this won't stop us!" Akaname yelled, releasing his Quirk and the bright pink flames had evaporated the large web into nothingness within seconds. Kenio and Mashiro, taking the opportunity, raced towards the robot on their skates.

"Oh no, you don't!" the scowling girl screamed with rage, shooting tendrils upon tendrils of web at the running boys, their backs ready for attack. But before the threads could even touch them, the bespectacled boy had dispersed them to nothing again.

"Tetsuya-san, leave me here and go help those two!" The boy stated, jumping down from her grip before she could speak.

However, the girl looked hesitant, her eyes focused on the sienna-haired examinee who seemed to be seething with rage. "But-"

"I'll be fine!" he yelled, spreading out his arms and immediately burning the webbed balls aimed at the duo, leaving a stench of sweet strawberries in the air. "I'm certain she won't resort to physical harm! That results in expulsion and juvenile prison, after all!" Akaname spoke loud enough for the girl to hear, causing her to flinch for a few seconds before she started creating more threads.

Inori, staring at the boy's determined gaze, nodded. "I understand." She pivoted her body to face ahead. "But I'll soon be back to get you." And with that murmur, she was off.

"You won't have to," the boy smiled confidently after her, bracing himself as the web-girl dashed towards him.

Meanwhile, Kenio and Mashiro were speeding towards the robot, the former's teeth gritted as he noticed that the earlier group had already started mounting attacks on it. _'But no, I can't lose! Not after coming this far!'_ His usually cheerful and soft features were now set in a dogged glower. _'I need to be strong! Strong enough to-!'_

"Keni-chi!"

Mashiro's callout made him immediately stop – and when he turned around, the boy was on the ground, bent on all fours. "Madou-san, what happened?!" But when he tried to skate towards him, Kenio barely kept himself from falling, stomping out his right foot to put a brake on his body. It was then that he realised that the roller skates he'd drawn had melted into a puddle of colours . . . most likely due to accumulating excess water from his wet body and clothes.

' _Che, is this really happening now?!'_ Shaking his head, he went to help the other boy up – but what he noticed immediately worried him. "Madou-san," he murmured, gently pulling the boy up on his knees, "You're hurt."

Indeed, his palms and shins were both skinned and bleeding. "I don't know why but it's harder for me to move now," he confessed sombrely, looking a bit downcast and very much unlike himself. But for Kenio, it immediately clicked. _'Madou-san has altered the bones in his body and added extra "branches" to them. Which is why, the extra weight and density of his body has increased even more after coming into contact with water and made him slow.'_ He unconsciously bit his thumb. _'This is bad. Without his usual speed-'_

"DODGE, TAKUMI!"

"Noooooooooo!"

"It's destroyed!"

The screams of confidence and victory from the earlier group had now become cries of despair and horror. Inori joined her two teammates and was about to ask them what the matter was before she noticed the scene in front of her eyes . . .

The black robot slowly removed the censor bracelet with slender fingers from the wrist of an unconscious boy. Mashiro's pupils retracted when he noticed it was the monkey boy, now lying on the ground with closed eyes and a limp tail.

"No way," Kenio mumbled, his body slightly shuddering. The robot stared at the unconscious children around it, resting its broadsword on its shoulder. "When did it . . . I just turned back for half a minute . . ."

Then it noticed the three teens standing nearby and its crimson eyes flashed – before it broke into a sprint right towards them.

"This is bad, this is bad, THIS IS BAD!" The freckled boy quickly moved his fingers to animate a weapon but the lines were coming together at a much slower pace than before. _'Not now! Not at a time like this!'_ The robot jumped high up in the air, pulling its broadsword over its head for a devastating blow. Mashiro grinned at it, licking his lips while Inori flew up in the air, glaring as she planned to intercept it before it could reach her allies.

However, a figure blitzed right in front of her, jade locks fluttering in the air as it smashed into the robot. Hard muscles collided against metal as both the boy and the robot crashed directly onto the ground with an impact so hard a small crater had formed on the rocky ground.

"Guys!" Akaname yelled between pants as he came jogging to the scene, his legs aching and his lungs burning from the sprint. The web-girl had been reduced to a drooling mess on the ground, her energy completely sucked out by her opponent's Incense Quirk and rendering herself temporarily unconscious. But when the pink-haired boy noted a large amount of dust obscure the air, negative thoughts immediately began to swamp him.

"Aka-chi!" If not for Mashiro's waving figure barely outlined amidst all the dust clouds, he would've almost collapsed. He ran over to them as fast as he could, relief washing over his features as he saw they were mostly unharmed.

However, it immediately dashed when he noticed bleeding. "Madou-san, you're hurt!" The look on his face was so upset and sorrowful it was as if he was the one who was hurt and not the smiling Mashiro.

"It's okay, doesn't hu- Uhhh, Aka-chi?" Without a word, the boy grabbed his teammate's hands and closed his eyes in concentration, his body alighting into softly burning, blush-toned flames. Kenio cheeks slightly reddened as he watched the scene before him while Inori had mild interest flash through her expressionless pupils – the flames transferred from Akaname's body to Mashiro's wounded palms and shins. And soon enough, they'd evaporated all the dark sand and grime sticking to the gashes.

"That was one of my special techniques, Spit Shine, that completely evaporates all dirt and grime from a person's body," he smiled at the boy while letting go of his hands. "At least you won't get an infection now

"Awwwww, Aka-chi, you were worried for me?" Instead of a grateful smile, a naughty smirk crept on the boy's lips as he poked the other boy on the cheek, hands wound around his shoulders. "Are you beginning to have feelings for me or something~?"

The boy flushed (again) to a shade even pinker than his flames and immediately regressed back, angrily pointing a finger at the grinning Mashiro and yelling, "M-Madou-san, I think you ought to have your brain scanned! Why would I have feelings for you?!"

' _Can't deny him on that brain scan,'_ Kenio thought.

"Whatever you say, mommy," the boy grinned, showing off a row of glistening teeth – if Akaname turned any redder, he would end up looking like tomato with a fillet of salmon on top.

However, as the cloud of dust cleared, Inori placed a finger on her lips and shushed everyone, causing the bespectacled boy to immediately snap his open mouth shut. As they looked forward, both the human and the robot were gone, only leaving a crater as an undeniable proof of their existence. In the near distance lay the unconscious bodies of the team that'd tried to attack the robot and Akaname immediately rushed towards them with Mashiro following close behind, keeping watch.

However, a little before he could reach them, a large black figure swerved into his path, locked in fierce, intense combat with a familiar, dark green-haired boy.

"Kanashimi-san!" the words had barely left him as the tall boy rained a barrage of well-aimed punches at the robot, limbs moving with precision and raw power. Even through his half-lidded eyes, he was able to dodge the robot's broadswords strikes by timely dodging, fighting on an equal pace with the automaton. As they moved away to some distance, Akaname and Mashiro finally reached the unconscious examinees and the former bent down to check the monkey-boy's pulse with an uneasy breath.

"He's alive and doesn't seem to have any major injuries," he finally released the inhale he'd been holding as Inori and Kenio walked up to them. "He's just been knocked unconscious." Fuma Kanashimi was battling in the distance, the sounds of his fists and kicks crashing against metal echoing all around the valley.

Inori touched the wrists of some of the teens, eyes narrowing. "As I thought, all their bracelets are gone." Both hands of all five were completely empty.

"But I don't understand," Kenio murmured, fingers working on drawing what seemed to be an armour plate on his body. "Why would it target the censor bracelets?"

Akaname spoke in a voice so low they almost didn't hear him. "To deliberately fail as many examinees as it can." Suddenly, screams were heard from above – looking up, the four teens barely saw the second black robot jump high up in the air before disappearing out of sight, moving towards the race course.

"Then we should help Kana-chi!" Mashiro cried, excited at the prospect of fighting such a powerful and intelligent opponent – no other robot had posed this much of a challenge.

But Inori immediately shot him down, eyes staring at the ongoing fight. "Fuma doesn't want our help."

Watching the battle between the grave-looking boy and the black robot dug out a burning realisation. Fuma seemed to be almost fighting a losing battle – he had already been given striking blows with the broadsword on his back and arms and even though he didn't stop, his movements had become slower and his eyes flinched occasionally. But watching him persevere through clenched teeth and the steely determination in his sapphire eyes was rather awe-inspiring for the watching four. Helping him without him asking would be a sign of disrespect and underestimation.

And the two who looked on from the top of the valley shared similar thoughts.

"We should hurry up, Fujita-san," the boy with the respirator mask, Kasai Hitori, called out softly to his lighter-haired friend. The small-framed girl was watching the intense battle below with dazed amber eyes, unaware of her partner's words. He sighed and ran a hand through his messy locks before poking the short girl who seemed to be lost in her own world, watching Fuma Kanashimi fight the robot. "Fujita-san," she finally responded, blinking up at him slowly. "We should go." He pointed to his bracelet as he spoke.

120 points.

"Oh, yes, sorry!" She waved her hands around, a little embarrassed at being caught distracted. The flashing numbers on her bracelet showed a blinking '100'. Swerving around, the girl narrowed her brows in concentration and soon enough, a large, stray rock near them wavered slowly from its place and indolently made its way towards the duo, pulled by the girl's Quirk.

Down below, Fuma wiped the blood from the side of his lip and pulling his hand back, struck the robot hard on its jaw, his punch laden with double the power as usual. A little taken aback at the sudden surge of power, the robot raised its broadsword for another strike.

"Thank you," it couldn't process the words the boy was speaking since it wasn't built to decipher human language. "For letting me build up my emotions." Crimson eyes glinting, it swung the broadsword at the boy but he immediately dodged by stepping to the side with increased speed – the robot swung the sword to hit him in a horizontal arch but Fuma lowered himself to the ground, bending his knees at a painful angle. Using his hands to support and lift his whole body off the ground, he aligned his feet and gave a powerful kick to the automaton. Unused to the boy's new surge of power, it lost its balance and toppled to the ground.

' _So he's finally using his true abilities.'_ Inori glanced at the impressed and overwhelmed expressions on the faces of her teammates – one was happily cheering for the sapphire-eyed boy and the other two seemed to be having a soft yet intense discussion.

Fuma straddled the robot's head between his strong thighs, stopping its broadsword with one hand when it tried for a side hit. There was a struggle of power as he grabbed its neck with his other hand in a chokehold but the boy was unwilling to let go now, even if he was at a risk of snapping all the muscles in his left hand. The robot's eyes glinted dangerously as it exhaled an angry 'whir' and suddenly, before everyone's eyes . . .

"Are you kidding me?!" Kenio was the first to cry out when the monstrous automaton took to the skies with the aid of blazing jetpacks that unfolded from its back with Fuma still sitting on its chest.

"Kyaaaahhhh!" Hoshi Fujita was barely able to dodge when the robot swerved right past the rock she and Kasai were riding to cross the valley. The blue-haired boy stared after the two figures through narrowed eyes as they went higher and higher up into the sky.

"I . . . will . . . not . . . fail." Due to the intense air pressure and the vicious wind hitting against his cheeks, Fuma could barely speak but eliciting those words was necessary to him, symbolising everything he'd dedicated his life to. The robot opened its mouth as another whirring yell escaped it but with the last bit of his power, Fuma gripped its neck tightly with his glowing right palm and cleanly pulled it off.

The black robot's mouth gaped open as the light vanished from its eyes. As the boy threw its head away, flinching at the burning pain in his wrists, the jetpacks equipped to its back shut down. He soon realised he had made a mistake when the flames blazed out and now . . .

He was falling.

' _Not good,'_ he could feel his arms go numb as the robot's body fell away from him, crashing towards the ground at a faster pace. Fuma watched the clear blue sky and the sun shining brightly over ahead, his aching fingers flexed out, eyes glued to the extra 100 points added to his bracelet, legs in the air, tired body falling and falling and falling. _'Looks like I used up the last bit of my energy in that one move.'_ A green spark lit up and died on his fingers within a second. He sighed, resigned to his fate as his eyes closed shut-

And they snapped open when strong arms wrapped around his body.

"It's gonna be okay, Fuma-kun." The boy was speechless for a few seconds, his mouth opening without words, eyes wide as they stared at his green-haired saviour. "Because **I** am here."

Deku's smile was blinding as it beamed upon him.

* * *

 **Student: Akaname Shimizu**

 **Quirk: Incense**

 **Akaname can generate pink "flames" from his body – but instead of burning things, they instead evaporate any non-living object he focuses them on. He can also use them to suck up the energy of any living being. Plus point, these "flames" leave the smell of strawberries behind!**

 **P.S: Akaname suffers from Germophobia which is why he always wears different coloured surgical masks and latex gloves.**

* * *

Inori stared so distractedly at the vague figures in the distant sky that she did not notice the willowy black outline approaching her until Akaname screamed, "WATCH OUT, TETSU-!"

She turned back barely in time to dodge the heavy strike of the broadsword aimed at her, rolling away as it struck hard ground next to her, creating a deep crater due to the powerful impact. All of her other teammates had been blown away due to the force – Kenio had spun towards the unconscious group of examinees while Mashiro and Akaname collided to the other side. And when their skins touched, the snow-haired boy turned towards him solemnly. "Your skin is very cold, Aka-chi," he turned to look at the shivering boy, who was trying to suppress his tired pants.

"And I was just wondering where the second one had gone." An uncanny grin lit up Kenio's face as he glowered at the robot, a rather distorted-looking machine gun strapped to his chest. He ran forward with a battle cry and opened fire on the robot, causing several dents on its body and sword before it was forced to back away.

However, Kenio had no intention of stopping and continued sprinting, clad in armour and a camo helmet. "Nakamura-san, wait!" Mashiro tried to help Akaname to his feet but the boy could barely stand on his shaking legs. Inori flew right past them and grabbed the orange-haired boy just before the robot could strike it with its broadsword.

The boy violently convulsed in her grip as she took to the air, legs writhing wildly towards the android who stared at them from its position on the ground. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, TETSUYA?!" He snapped, glaring at her viciously – although she remained outwardly as impassive as ever, she couldn't help mentally recoiling a little.

To think this cheerful and optimistic looking boy could look so murderous . . . it was more than a little unsettling.

"Calm down, Nakamura," she tried her best for a soothing voice – even though it came out as stern and expressionless as ever he stopped his violent movements, hanging limply in the grip of her claws. "You almost got a pretty big hit from its broadsword."

His next words shocked her. "So . . . what?" His voice was so soft she almost didn't hear it amidst the chaotic noises from everywhere. "As long as I had hit it even a little," a hateful gleam, almost malevolent in nature, sparked in the usually friendly orange eyes, "why does it matter how hurt I got?"

Her eyes widened but she had no time to react more for the sleek automaton had already attacked Mashiro and the weakened Akaname. "Che, Aka-chi, can you do something about this broadsword?" the snow-haired boy gritted through a stressed grin, using his bone lance to block the broadsword – but as the robot pressed down harder and harder, cracks were starting to appear on his bones. Akaname stood leaning against a large, nearby stone, breathing heavily, his eyelids fluttering shut but nevertheless trying to evaporate the broadsword with his now paler and weaker flames.

"Guh!" Mashiro was almost pushed to the ground, knees bent at a painful angle and back straining – the cracks on his lance were starting to widen and multiply, causing him much pain. However, a black flash and a powerful kick pushed the robot away from the duo, Inori landing in front of them protectively, glowering at it as it crashed to the ground.

"T-Thank you, Tetsuya-sa-," Kenio jogged up to them right on time to catch Akaname who almost collapsed to the ground. The other two looked on in faint alarm.

"Shimizu-san, your body is freezing!" The girl's relief of the ginger reverting back to his normal state was soon slashed away by the statement. Their bespectacled leader was panting short, heavy breaths, his eyes almost drooping close.

"J-Just listen to me one last time," he rasped with great effort and even though the others wanted him to save his energy, they nodded in unison. The robot had picked itself up and was now shaking off the gravel from its body. "If we attack it blindly right now, we have no chance to win. I'm already at my limit . . . Madou-san has cracks forming on his bones and Nakamura-san," Kenio gulped, "Don't think I haven't noticed your drawings are taking much more time to become animated." The ginger immediately flushed with guilt as Mashiro and Inori nodded in agreement.

The robot held the handle of its broadsword in order to dislodge it from the ground. "I have a plan and since Tetsuya-san is the most important factor in it," all eyes turned to her, "You will be the one to agree or disagree to it, Tetsuya-san. You're the only one whose Quirk hasn't shown any signs of being overridden yet."

It didn't even take her a second to reply. "I trust you, Shimizu. We'll go ahead with the plan," she unwaveringly declared.

His face seemed to regain a bit of its colour at that, a small smirk forming under his surgical mask. "I hope I can be worthy enough of all your trusts."

At the top of the valley, Hoshi and Kasai jumped off the rock as soon as they reached the other side of the cliff, the former letting it fall below. "I'm a little worried about them," she mumbled as they rushed to the now visible finish line, Deku's flag fluttering proudly in the distance. There was no one else in sight except security standing near the flag.

"Don't worry," Kasai replied, briefly turning around to glance at the now disappearing third obstacle behind them. "I have a feeling they'll be alright."

"Madou-san!"

Inori flew into the air as Mashiro blocked the robot's strike again by bringing both his arms in front of his body and thickening the density of his bones, altering them to form a couple of shields to increase durability. "Hurry up, guys!" He gritted through a clenched smile – although his bones were faring better for defence in this form, the cracks continued to widen from the pressure of the powerful broadsword.

"I'm . . . almost . . . done!" Kenio struggled to put the finishing touches on his animation just as Inori swooped down, latching herself to the robot and grabbing at his head with her claws. The automaton quickly removed his left arm from the broadsword and jabbed at the girl with his now free hand but she blocked it just in time with her right claw.

"You're done for now!" Mashiro gleefully cried, stabbing the robot's eye with his remodelled lance bone. However, at the same time, the broadsword came crashing down upon him by cracking away a part of his bone shield and the boy would've become rather hurt-

-If not for Akaname pulling him away in time, causing the broadsword to collide with his right arm.

"Aka-chi!" The snow-haired boy caught his faint friend before he could topple to the ground, noting the deathly chill that pervaded his whole body. Black eyes were beginning to droop close as Akaname struggled to stay awake – but even through his heavy lids, he could see the crack across the screen of his censor bracelet.

Flaming anger surged through Kenio as his fingers itched to create a destructive weapon that would blow the robot to unrecognisable smithereens. But once he noted Mashiro desperately calling out to the pink-haired boy to stay awake and Inori still holding onto the robot, taking all its jabs and hits just to follow the plan . . . he forced himself to stay calm and follow their team leader's strategy, pushing the anger away to be brought out at a time when he'd be stronger.

"TAKE THIS!" The ginger was finally done and now brandished a colourful water pistol-like creation – as the robot turned its shiny eyes towards him, Inori let go and flew up just as a spray of sticky clay showered all over it. It whirred in what seemed to be a cornered cry as dark grey mass firmly clung to all of its wires and metal workings, pulling its body into a taut, immobile position.

With another mechanical screech, jetpacks flew out of its back and it'd taken to the skies, flashing past the third obstacle in seconds much to the amazement of the examinees making their way towards the finish line. Kenio stared as their fourth teammate followed the robot, feeling colours finally fade away from his fingers. Mashiro was supporting the grave and quiet Akaname on his shoulder as the freckled boy looked up, mumbling, "Now it's all up to you."

 _( 'Right now, none of us are really in a condition to take that robot on in a straight-out fight', Akaname had used the short amount of time in their hands to quickly lay out the strategy. 'But if we use all the tricks we specialise in, we can still beat it. First of all, Nakamura-san,' the boy nodded attentively, 'You will create a gun that can shoot out thick volumes of sticky clay – so sticky, they should be able to attach powerful metal together.' Although nervous and confused, Kenio decided he would not question Akaname this time. 'Madou-san will be protecting Nakamura-san during his process of creation.' Mashiro looked positively delighted with his role. 'Tetsuya-san will go off to a distance so that the robot only focuses on Madou-san initially but then she will swoop up to it as quickly as possible and help Madou-san in keeping it grounded till Nakamura-san is ready.'_

 _The automaton had finally succeeded in pulling its broadsword out of the rubble, ominously turning towards its targets in a slow pivot. 'Then, when the gun is ready, I want Tetsuya-san to fly away to a close but safe distance while Nakamura-san sprays the clay all over it. And when it is cornered,' Akaname's sagging eyes glinted with certainty, 'I'm convinced it'll take to the skies just like the one Kanashimi-san fought did . . . after which, Tetsuya-san, defeating it is all up to you.' )_

As Inori flew after the robot with her highest speed, she engraved those words in her heart.

She would not disappoint her allies again.

The robot half-turned its head almost painfully towards her, metal screeching against the friction of the clay which had also greatly decreased its speed. With one powerful flap, she caught up to it and squeezed its face between her claws, glaring at it straight in the eyes. Without its broadsword it tried to defend itself with its limbs but they were glued to its body, immobile and useless. "I'm sorry," there was not a hint of sympathy in her apathetic voice and not a flicker of pity in her cold grey eyes, "but you've already caused enough people pain."

Down below, Kenio and Mashiro supported Akaname on their shoulders as they climbed up a steep flight of stairs to ascend the third obstacle. With his bracelet cracked, the boy had become completely silent and numb.

"So for their sakes," with one clench of her huge nails, she brutally ripped off the steel mask that covered its face, exposing a crackling bunch of wires and intricate gear assembled underneath two ruby balls. "Please be destroyed."

Its jaw hinged open as if it wanted to say something but Inori silently thrust her hand in between its uncovered face till her nails jutted out from the back of the robot's head, a crimson eye dislodging and plunging away. The jetpacks on its back fizzled out as it started plummeting, a pathetic sight of limbs clung together with sticky clay and ruptured facial features. She wordlessly flew away from the destroyed body, hurrying towards her teammates.

"Just a bit more, Shimizu-san!" Kenio and Mashiro dragged the senseless boy towards the visible flag, the face of a smiling Deku on it giving them hope to persevere despite their aching and exhausted bodies. "We're almost there!"

However, a large number of examinees had crossed the third obstacle and were now running close behind, competing for the last four spots. _'Should I get rid of them?'_ Mashiro wondered to himself, getting a little excited at the hypothetical twist his actions could bring. _'It seems like it'll be fun . . .'_

But before he could go down the train of thought, something had swooped in between the two boys and easily scooped up Akaname. "Hurry up, you two," Inori stated as she flew in between the both of them – causing them to exchange shocked looks between each other before grinning and breaking into a final dash towards the finish line, the mob behind drawing nearer.

"You should've just left me." The boy whispered so softly she almost didn't hear him over the excited roars and cries of the students below. She flinched at the dead look in his tired eyes, the usually energetic look in them now lost. "My bracelet's broken," his hands dangled limply by his sides, "and there's no hope for me anymore."

That look . . . she didn't want to see that look on anyone ever again.

". . . I don't know if that's true or not." She spoke in a voice louder than her usual whispers causing him to slightly look up at her. "I don't know if we'll pass or fail but I promised I'd be back to get you." Grey met black and for the first time during their meeting, Akaname saw an emotion briefly flash through her eyes. "And I will keep that promise, no matter what."

And that emotion caused a surge of hope to faintly bloom in his heart.

He didn't realise when they surged past the finish line until he was greeted by the emerald flag of Deku wavering energetically before him – the face of the Symbol of Peace. Inori got down on her feet but did not let go of him despite his feeble protests, turned towards the race track and watching the approaching crowd of several desperate and yelling students.

Her face relaxed when she saw a flushed ginger and a grinning ivory-haired boy running in the lead, refusing to move their legs. And as the two waited with bated breaths, the male duo sprinted through the finish line with their arms raised in the air, bracelets gleaming underneath the bright noon sun.

"WE DID IT!" Mashiro grabbed all three of his teammates in a brutal hug as soon as they reached the other side, causing everyone to be squashed into each other. "WE GOT INTO U.A!"

Kenio also had a bright, barely controlled grin erupt on his face before it sobered when his eyes fell on the decrepit Akaname. "Madou-san," he spoke hesitantly, "We shouldn't celebrate yet . . ."

"Oh no, let the boy have his celebrations! He's worked more than enough for them." A voice jovially called out and for all of them, time seemed to stop. Their gazes fell on an incredibly familiar man whose broad shoulders carried the safety of the whole world and whose dazzling smile seemed to promise an eternity of peace.

"No way . . .," Kenio's jaw dropped open, eyes looking like they'd spill out of his head any time now.

"You're-!" Even Mashiro seemed to be swept off his feet, reduced to a stuttering mess. "You-re . . . you're . . . You're-! You're-!"

Akaname turned to slowly look up and come face-to-face with an angelic smile that belonged to the world's greatest Hero. "You really are . . ."

Inori whipped around at the sound of his voice, curls flitting everywhere. _'It's him. It really is him.'_ And suddenly, there was no one around but only them – no entrance tests, no examinees, no U.A., no Heroes or Villains . . .

Nothing but only her and Deku.

"You should join in on your friend's celebrations, Akaname-kun," Deku bent down in front of the boy with a smile so bright it could light up the darkest nights that ever occurred. "You look much better when you're confidently smiling and barking orders like a true leader."

"Deku-san . . . I . . .," the boy desperately tried to keep his composure but his voice broke and soon, tears were spilling through his eyes. ". . . I got my . . . bracelet damaged . . . so I . . . I . . . failed . . ." He choked the word out with great difficulty, fists shaking as he stared at the ground.

Mashiro and Kenio stepped towards him to comfort but they didn't have to as the No. 1 Hero had pulled the young boy in a tight embrace. "And that's how you showed that you're a true Hero, Akaname-kun." The boy whipped up with shock to stare at the admirable man, flushing as a large, warm hand patted his head. "You showed great capabilities as a leader, being able to organise strangers within a short span of time and recognising everyone's Quirk's strengths and weaknesses easily. You showed great capabilities as a strategist by keeping your cool under pressure and formulated effective plans to even battle against tricky situations. But the most important of all . . ."

Deku gently took his right hand in his own and brought up his bracelet to face level with the boy. Even though his first action was to look away, Akaname decided to face things straight ahead and glanced at his bracelet for the first time after the fight with the black robot.

The screen was badly cracked and the light had dimmed but even in the dull background, a bold '100' blinked.

". . . You showed great capability as a true Hero by pushing yourself and your status into harm's way to protect someone." As Deku finally let go, Mashiro and Kenio both attacked the bespectacled boy in a tight group hug, the former wiping away at the thick tears that silently rolled down his cheeks. The Symbol of Peace tilted his head and smiled fondly at them. "So because of your selfless action to save someone by sacrificing yourself, Shimizu Akaname-kun, you did not fail."

 _( "I will always be here to protect you." )_

"Deku-san . . .," Inori whispered in the faintest of voices, her fingers slowly inching towards him. However, Mashiro pulled her towards them and forced her to join in their celebration through tearful laughter and hysterical cheers.

"So, welcome!" Deku pumped an energetic fist into the air as old memories overwhelmingly flooded Inori. "To the next generation of U.A. students!"

' _There's so much I want to talk to you about, Deku-san,'_ she watched longingly as he turned back to walk into the building after instructing the school staff. _'But for now,'_ she turned towards the boys – Kenio was trying to console the sobbing Akaname while having tears in his eyes while Mashiro was teasing the latter for being a cry-baby. _'I'll content myself with this.'_

And the briefest of smiles occupied her lips.

* * *

(Friday, 15th April, 2:30 p.m.)

"I . . . wanted to apologise to you."

Kenio gingerly sat on the edge of the bed beside Inori, head hanging and eyes downcast in shame. The atmosphere in the infirmary was silent and private because of the widely spaced beds and the opaque white curtains that separated each one. He was thankful that no one was able to see him but also slightly intimidated about talking to the girl alone without Akaname or Mashiro quipping in.

"Don't worry, I didn't really think anything of it." God, was it hard to gauge her reactions when she always sported an emotionless gaze and placid expression. The girl was in the process of putting away her acceptance letter, new uniforms and some other things in her brown satchel. After being handed their acceptance letters and new uniforms, the passing 40 children had been asked to get as much rest today and the following Sunday and to attend regular classes from Monday after their orientation speech. Kenio had rushed to meet Inori (after asking for directions from a taunting and giggling Mashiro) before she left, unable to wait till the next school day to meet her.

"No, please, I have to say this." The determination and overbearing guilt in his voice made her pause and turn towards him. With bangs overshadowing his face and withdrawn eyes, he spoke, "You saved me twice – once today morning and the other when that robot was about to hit me but I . . . I still snapped at you. I was so rude I don't . . . I don't even know what to say. I just . . . well," his shoulders sagged as he raked out a deep sigh, finally gaining the courage to look at her face, "I think you're a really nice person, Tetsuya-san and I . . . I want to be friends with you. But after all the way I spoke to you, it . . . it'd be too much to-"

She immediately got up on her feet, causing the boy to flinch and swallow his words. He felt hurt flush through him before he saw a slender, sun-kissed hand rise in front of his face. She was staring down at him but her eyes weren't completely expressionless. "It's Inori." She repeated herself when he goggled at her incredulously. "Call me Inori," she cleared her throat.

It took almost half a minute before Kenio was able to respond. But just as the black-haired girl thought he had frozen to stone and was about to drop her palm, he stood up with a start and grabbed it tightly in his warm palm.

"And I'm Kenio!" His eyes had immediately regained their brightness, shining as bright as the summer midday sun. "It's nice to be friends with you . . . Inori!"

* * *

ED 1 – **No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **3 chapters to showcase battles that weren't even two hours long . . . TT-TT But at least the entrance test is all over now! :D Yippee! That means we can skip to Monday and begin classes from next chapter! HURRAH!**

 **I'd also like to thank all the lovely people who leave behind their exciting reviews and favorite and follow the story! There's no motivation like reading your guy's theories, opinions, motivations and ideas!**


	5. Ch 4 - Welcome to Class 1-A!

OP 1 – **Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – Welcome to Class 1-A!**

(Saturday, 16th April, 12:30 a.m. – Midoriya Household)

The brunette slowly lifted her head up from the desk and sleepily rubbed her eyes, shoulder-length locks flattened all over her round face and neck. Taking a look at the clock that adorned the velvet-papered wall of her office, she slowly rolled back her chair and made sure to get up very carefully and not bump even a little into the bureau. During these last three months, she'd have to be especially careful according to the doctors – and besides, her husband would fly into a fretful panic if he thought she wasn't taking care of herself well.

She waddled her way through the room, feet ducked into comfortable baby blue slippers that matched the colour of the short-sleeved dress she wore, hem brushing against her shins. When she reached the full-length mirror near the shut door, she turned to have a glimpse of herself – and with an affectionate smile, rubbed her hands over her large belly.

"Deku-kun?" Midoriya Ochako called out softly once she was out in the hallway, just in case her beloved husband was already asleep. But when she heard a response from his office, she made her way to the adjacent room and turned the unlocked doorknob to let herself in.

"You haven't slept yet?" Deku turned back to smile at her, dressed comfortably in a plain white shirt and striped boxers. She wandered up to him humming under her breath, noticing his desk was littered with various files – student files of the new Hero class.

"I dozed off for some time on my desk," Ochako put her arms around her husband and nuzzled her face into his neck, eliciting a happy chuckle from him. During the initial years of their relationship, he'd become flustered and half-faint at the smallest of affectionate gestures causing her to become doubly embarrassed. It was now endearing to see him become comfortable with her touches even though he did turn crimson now and then. "How long will you be up?" she questioned, longing to slip under the covers on their large, fluffy bed and doze off in his arms.

"I'll be right up after organising these files," he replied, emerald eyes tinged with excitement. He patted and gently kissed his wife's round belly, lightly pressing one freckled cheek against it. "The third trimester's begun now, huh?" His warm, scarred palms pressed against Ochako's stomach. "It's becoming harder and harder to wait to see him."

The brunette pressed her own soft hands over Deku's, smiling down at him with love-filled eyes. Even if a million romantic songs inhabited the world and a billion love poems were penned everyday, nothing was enough to illustrate how much Ochako Midoriya loved Izuku Midoriya. "Tsu-chan and Momo-chan are even more excited than me," she said with a giggle. "They say Kayu-chan, Shoko-chan and Mori-kun pester them every day to see their little brother."

Deku joined her in her laughter. "I never could've imagined that Kacchan and Shoto-kun would've ever become dads." He looked down at his scarred hands wistfully, remembering all the harrowing fights they had to strive through to reach the current peace of their lives. "I never would've thought I'd have survived through everything and have a family." So many instances when death had been a mere breath away, so many lives lost fighting against evil, so many sacrifices they had to make . . .

Izuku was caught off-guard when Ochako threw her arms around him, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder and soaking in his warmth. "It's all behind us, Deku-kun." Her grip tightened around him and the man realised she was reliving all those nightmarish years in her mind. "We've put all those times behind us and now . . . we'll have peace."

Izuku placed his palms on top of her arms, rubbing them reassuringly as he leaned back into her embrace. "Yes, we will. I will make sure of it."

He looked down at the files of the young students, each face a budding fledgling with a future to strive for. "I'll make sure they don't have to go through what we did," he stated firmly, eyes burning with determination.

* * *

(Monday, 18th April, 8:56 a.m. – U.A. Class 1-A)

Inori wasn't really someone who was tardy but things had kept her awake last night and prevented her from waking up early in the morning. But from the ruckus and yelling that emerged from her assigned classroom, she safely deduced that her homeroom teacher wasn't in class yet.

"What the hell did you say, you fake-haired asshole?!"

"You fucking heard what I said, metal-fucker!"

As soon as she'd slid the door open, she blankly stared at the scene in front of her eyes. _'Really, how do these people have so much energy in the morning?'_ Two boys were all up in each other's faces, clenching collars and shaking fists – one of them she recognised as the green-haired rude delinquent sitting beside Jigoku in the auditorium during the day of their entrance test. But the other boy, shorter though more muscular, with wild grey hair, was a newbie for her.

"Really, this behaviour is incredibly abhorrent of U.A. students!" Unsurprisingly, Akaname was trying to weasel his way in between the two, wearing his usual glasses, latex gloves and a pink surgical mask. "And to be getting into a battle even before homeroom has begun on the first day! You guys should be-"

"Stay fucking out of it, Pinky!" The taller boy would've easily punched Akaname if not for someone stepping in and grabbing his wrist firmly.

"Now, now, let's not get violent, okay?" The emerald-haired boy looked up to glower holes at the speaker – a dark-skinned, wide-shouldered boy with Elfin ears and long arms. His eyes were downturned and lax-looking with beige slits and green irises. But the most noticeable thing about the boy was the black balaclava that covered the lower half of his face, resulting in his muffled voice.

"You're talking to the wrong person, Hanransha!" Unfortunately, the silver-haired boy seemed to be hell-bent on not letting things rest. "Let him punch me! I'll make sure he's unable to use his hands for a few days!"

"Jobu-san, please calm down . . .," Kenio and some golden-haired blond were stuck to each of the boy's arms.

A murderous smile blossomed on Ryo Kenshi's face and everyone could see a vein, as blue as his eyes, pop on his temple. " _Your_ hands are the ones that are gonna fucking crack if you even touch me-"

"Gosh, you two, please stop!" The short blond with the incredibly messy hair (they'd probably not had contact with a comb for weeks) whined, straining to hold on to the muscular Jobu. "You yolks are terri-frying me!"

For a few seconds, everyone in the class turned to shoot an incredulous glance at the grinning boy but Jobu and Ryo were soon in each other's faces again, teeth baring and necks straining as they struggled to get out of the grip of their classmates.

"Woohoo, bull fight, bull fight!" Meanwhile, a very familiar figure with very familiar sea-foam hair and very familiar dark eyes, stood on one of the desks, yelling and cheering excitedly. "Come on, you two, let's smash!" He burst out laughing at his choice of words, arms shaking as he wrapped them around his stomach, tears spraying out of his eyes.

"God, why is this embarrassment in the same class as me?!" Asuna Nishiya looked away from Koji Aizawa with a look of disgust, sitting in a far corner away from the commotion along with two other girls.

"W-We should stop them, I think . . ." a rose-haired girl mumbled almost inaudibly, playing with the tips of the long spider legs that curled out from her back.

"Do you think so, Suzu-chan~?" Hoshi Fujita was staring at the argument with a dazed smile on her lightly freckled face. "I think they're just sharing their manly bonds with each other in a passionate way~!"

When the two other girls realised their friend actually meant what she said, they couldn't help exchange nervous looks.

Inori, unsure of whether to enter the class or escape to the roof for some peace and quiet, was pushed in by a soft mound of flesh, stamping down her right leg to not lose her balance. "Get ouuuuut of my w- Oh, it's _youuuuu._ " Turning back, the raven-haired girl was met with a towering, Amazonian beauty who glared down at her with hate-filled sulphuric slits. "The Tetsssssssuya Princesssssss."

For a moment, the two girls stood staring (and glaring) at each other. Inori, even with her usual blank face, could not help internally marvelling at the appearance of the female in front of her. Tawny-skinned, both vertically and horizontally blessed (she realised what the soft mounds that had pressed into her were) with wine-coloured, black-tipped hair that seemed to bristle like writhing snakes. Looking down, she noticed that instead of legs, a thick, crimson snake tail extended from beyond the teal uniform skirt, protruding out of the door and into the hallway.

"If you're done ogling me, ssssstep assssside, Princess," the lamia hissed in, slithering haughtily once Inori had moved. She stopped short once she noted the commotion in class and snorted with annoyance. "Monkeysssssss."

Suddenly, the sound of running feet hit Inori's ears and as soon as she turned towards the door, she was greeted with the sight of a very cheerful Mashiro. "Hi there, Nori-chi!" he waved at her before turning his attention to everyone present in class. "Everyone~!" he sang out with a giggle and most of the faces had turned towards him – except for Jobu and Ryo who were still trying to viciously tear at each other. "One of the teachers has asked all of us to come to the auditorium immediately for the orientation~!" That got even the angry boys to snap their attention towards him. With his hands behind his back, he giggled, "Let's hurry up before we're hung upside down naked, ne~?"

Asuna visibly cringed at him. "I doubt anyone in U.A. would do that!" _'What a creepy guy!'_

"Alright, alright, you heard the guy," the speaker this time was a rather short boy with a small frame and black curls combed to the front with long bangs. He left his seat from beside Jigoku and walked towards the two quarrellers with a smile, waving his hands peacefully. "Let's have a momentary truce, alright, Jobu-san, Kenshi?" He looked at each one as he spoke.

That seemed to calm the silver-haired boy a little as he finally relaxed his shoulders but Kenshi violently pulled himself away from Hanransha before glowering down at the speaker. "I don't wanna hear that from someone like _you,_ Hara," he spat before burying his hands in his baggy pants and stomping out of the room, roughly bumping against Mashiro's shoulder on his way out.

"What the hell's that guy's problem?!" Jobu exclaimed, angrily glaring after him. Kenio and the blond finally let go of him and for the moment, things seemed to finally be at momentary peace.

"Who knows?" the blond winced as he rotated his right arm, using his left hand to massage the adjacent shoulder. "Maybe I should use my Quirk and get him to light-en up a little."

"He doesn't look like it but he's got a nice side," Hara stated with a subdued smile.

"For apparent reasons, I find that impossible to believe," Kenio sighed, running a hand through his hair and grimacing – he'd put a lot of effort into making his ponytail tidy today but now it had reverted into its usual messy form.

"Alright, everybody!" Akaname clapped his hands together to grab everyone's attention. He spread an arm out and ordered, "We've been ordered to make way to the auditorium so let's move now! A single, orderly file please!"

"Who died and made _you_ bossssss?!" Kazumi sneered, exiting the class snootily. Akaname angrily stared after but made no comment. Along with the dark crimson-haired girl, a quiet, muscular boy and Fuma left the class as well.

"Looks like we've got quite a variety of classmates, huh?" Kenio awkwardly smiled, hoping to soothe a little bit of his bespectacled friend's wounded pride. As Inori walked up to them, both boys greeted her, being joined by Mashiro soon after.

"You really shouldn't pick fights on the first day itself, Jobu," Kita walked up to the orange-eyed boy, looking already tired before the day even properly began.

"Hey, you know he started it first!" The boy still hadn't gotten over his anger. "Who gave him the freaking right to call out Real Steel like that?!"

"Keeping their cool when provoked by the enemy is the mark of a true Hero," Asuna flipped her twin-tailed ringlets over her shoulders as she passed by the boy. "You should learn something from your idol, pfft," she covered her mouth with her hand but the condescending snigger that escaped her was very audible to Jobu.

"Why don't you say that to my face?!" he shook a fist at her but she blatantly ignored him and strode away. However, as she walked by Inori, she shot her a seething, hate-filled glare – but the latter refused to even look at her.

"You can't run away anymore, you know," Asuna stopped a little ahead of her, front bangs shadowing her face. "I'll pay you back this time for sure."

"Go ahead," Inori disinterestedly replied, causing the girl to twist her head to look at her, fuchsia eyes burnt with rage. But instead of saying anything, the brunette just clicked her tongue and strode out of the classroom. Although their exchange had been low, it did not escape the gaze of some people.

Kasai, meanwhile, was pondering on Asuna's words of how a Hero should keep their cool when provoked but when he thought about his mentor, he almost let out a chuckle. "Nope, no way he can ever do that," he grinned under his respirator, getting out of his seat and joining the rest of his classmates in walking towards the auditorium.

* * *

 **Student Name: Mashiro Madou**

 **Quirk: Bone Manipulation**

 **Mashiro uses his Quirk to harden, shape and protrude the bones out of his body! Although his Quirk is rather painful to use, his body adapts by creating small pores in his skin and blood vessels through which the bones can expand out without causing blood loss or any other severe injuries.**

 **P.S: To make his Quirk work properly, he needs to drink at least 2.5 litres of milk everyday!**

* * *

(Monday, 18th April, 9:18 a.m. – U.A. Auditorium)

A wave of nostalgia hit everyone as they entered the large hall, remembering the only part of U.A. they'd properly visited before the entrance exam. Although the lights were much brighter than during their first visit and the rows much more empty, it was a little evocative to be in there again as most of them had thought they'd never get to step into the place a second time.

Inori sat in between Kenio and the energetic blond, who'd introduced himself as Yuki Aisen, in one of the front rows as instructed by the teachers. Beside Kenio sat Akaname, who was admonishing Jigoku for blatantly flirting with a clueless Hoshi while the smiley-faced and short Habiki Hara occupied the seat beside Aisen. Kenshi, Kazumi and Fuma were the only ones who were sitting a considerable distance away from the rest of their classmates.

"Oh my God, Tsukuyomi, Cellophane, Present Mic, Midnight and I can even see Eraserhead!" Kenio was fanboy-ing over the famous Pro Heroes who occupied the very first row, all starry-eyed and looking like he would drool at any given moment now. "I wonder if one of them is gonna be our homeroom teacher?!"

"That'd be sick!" Aisen leaned over Inori's seat to have a better view of Kenio. "I mean, they're amongst the top fifty Pro Heroes of the country! Man, U.A. really doesn't pull any punches . . . quite literally!" He leaned back in his chair and chuckled at his own joke, eliciting a snigger from Kenio while Inori stared on vacantly.

"I hope we get to see Deku again, soon!" The ginger remarked with hope, perking the raven-haired girl's attention.

"Yeah, right?!" Aisen seemed to agree reverently like any other admirer of the Symbol of Peace. Then, finally seeming to notice the girl beside him, he blinked at her with his large lilac eyes and called, "Hey, Tetsuya!" The girl only turned her eyes towards him. "You were a member of Team Tenshi, right?!" The excitement was written all over his face and echoed in his voice. "The strongest middle school students in entire Japan . . . that's really lit!"

"Huh?!" Kenio, clearly not aware of the fact, goggled at Inori. She looked on straight ahead silently, looking completely disinterested in the topic.

"You didn't know?!" Even Akaname stared at the freckled boy incredulously. When he hesitantly shook his head, the pink-haired boy sighed and began to explain, "Team Tenshi was a group of six powerful middle school students who went to Hakuran Middle School. The members consisted of Atsushi Tasuku, the brawler, Shintaro Erika, team Leader, Seijuro Nagi, the Brains, Ryota Suzune, the Trump Card, Daiki Hiro, the Speed Fighter and . . ."

At each word, Kenio's face lit up more and more with an overwhelmed expression of admiration. ". . . Tetsuya Inori, the Berserker."

He turned his head to gaze at the long-haired girl who suppressed an inaudible sigh under her breath. "I shifted to Musutafu recently so I guess that's why I didn't know," he awkwardly laughed while rubbing the back of his head. _'But, really,'_ he glanced at Inori from the corner of his eyes. _'I knew Tetsuya-san was strong but to think she was considered one of the strongest middle schoolers in the entire country . . .,'_ He determinedly gazed down at his clenched fist, remembering memories of Fuma fighting the robot, the mysterious Kasai Hitori who took down a 50 pointer with minimal effort and a charismatic blond Pro Hero he'd always idealised. _'I have to catch up to all of them soon!'_

"So, Tetsuya!" Aisen began again and Inori finally turned to fully look at the wide-eyed boy. "Why didn't the other members join U.A?" Her shoulders slightly stiffened. "I heard from my brother that Daiki and Ryota joined Shiketsu High! That's where my twin, Alistair, studies by the way!"

"Both you and your brother managed to get into the two best schools of Japan?!" Akaname's glasses glistened as he remarked, more to himself than to the others. "Some kind of special family training regime?"

"Nai, nai, it's nothing special like that!" Aisen waved his hand around, smiling. "Tell me," he leaned towards the girl, "Is it a secret? Oh, oh!" He put his hands to his face, as if he'd made some kind of shocking discovery. "Could it be some super-confidential, elite mission you guys are on?!" Inori didn't reply, hoping her perpetual silence would shut the guy up. "Come to think of it, Seijuro hasn't appeared on the news late-Ow!"

The boy winced and rubbed his arm, staring at Hara who had just discreetly elbowed him. "Simmer down a little, Yuki-san," the gray-eyed boy stated, shooting a brief smile at the staring girl. Gesturing at the stage, he told the blond, "It's about to begin."

"Oh, right!" Aisen jumped back a little in his seat to be more comfortable. "Thanks, Hara!"

"No problem at all," the boy replied, smiling. Inori gave him a brief, thankful nod and he returned it, mouthing a 'No problem.'

With all the students in the auditorium finally having settled down, consisting of only the first years of all departments, the lights in the auditorium dimmed while amber spotlights lit up the stage. And soon enough the anthromorphic Principal, and mascot, of U.A. High, Principal Nezu, had graced the stage.

"Good morning, students!" His gentle, caring voice echoed through the lowered mike as everyone present respectfully applauded.

"He's so cute~!" Hoshi was squealing from her place between Asuna and Jigoku. "I wanna cuddle him so bad~!"

Once the applause had settled, Nezu cleared his throat and began, "For more than five decades, U.A. has stood as the pinnacle of Hero education in this country, discovering, polishing and developing several of its students as not only worthy Pro Heroes but also as upstanding civilians." All the odd hundred number of students watched the capable teacher with engrossed eyes. "As a school, we've faced several criticisms regarding our methods and yes, I admit, we have made mistakes in the past – mistakes which may have severely affected our students and challenged the very foundations of our Academy."

' _What kind of mistakes?'_ Inori started thinking to herself. _'Isn't this called the Era of Peace?'_

"But that is the very essence of U.A!" As he continued speaking, Nezu poured more power into his words, small black eyes narrowed with belief and passion. "No matter what obstacles are thrown at us or what impediments come our way, we will always overcome them and keep on moving forward! We will learn from them and redeem our mistakes and grow as an institution, along with our students!" Everyone's faces had slowly started brightening.

"We will nurture each and every one of our students, not only those of the Hero Course, to bloom into the most brilliant individual you can and shine with a glow that belongs to only you! Together, as a school, as teachers and students, as mentors and the Heroes who will succeed the future, we **will** go further beyond!"

"Plus Ultra!" Aisen leaped up from his seat and cheered, causing many others to follow suit.

"We'll work hard, Principal Nezu!"

"To U.A.!"

"Wooohoooo!" Koji, sitting on the extreme right of the row Inori and the others occupied, stood up on his chair. "You're really the coolest mouse I've ever seen, sensei-oww!" The boy was cleanly knocked down by a perfectly aimed dictionary that hit him square on the middle of his face.

"Emi needs to control the kid more," Eraserhead grumbled sleepily from the first row, sitting in between the awkwardly smiling Cellophane and Midnight.

Once the children had settled down again, Nezu cleared his throat and with a knowing smile, said, "Now that my boring speech is over, there's a special guest who'd like to address you all." As soon as he walked away from the mike, murmurs broke out amongst the students.

"Ne, Hara!" Aisen turned to the boy and shook his arm. "Can you use your Quirk to figure out the special guest?!"

The boy slyly smiled and replied, "He's here."

Before the blond could open his mouth to whine, "WHO?", footsteps echoed from backstage and soon, a figure could be seen slowly walking towards the mike under the illuminated lime-lights. As the outline of the man became completely clear under the spotlight showered by the golden rays, the murmurs had soon transfigured into excited cheers and cries of admiration.

Inori gripped the hand-rests of her seat with vice, eyes pulled impossibly wide as Deku, looking dapper in an ironed black suit instead of his green hero uniform, took hold of the microphone. "Good morning, everyone," he softly greeted and the students had already erupted into raucous applause while Inori sat unmoving, wondering how a fully grown adult male could have such a heart-wrenchingly adorable smile.

"IT'S DEKUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Aisen looked about ready to jump out of his seat.

The olive-haired male scratched his cheek as he waved and smiled at everyone, freckled face flushed a light pink. "Glad to see everyone's doing so well!" he flashed a thumbs up to the crowd and the crowd went wild for at least a minute, forcing the teachers to quieten the students. After a few seconds' pause, Deku started, "I, along with your other teachers, have personally seen how you guys survived your harrowing entrance exams and stressful interviews. Amongst hundreds of other candidates, only a select few of you were able to get over the pressure and earn your rightful spot into U.A."

"Interviews?" Kenio whispered. "I didn't give one." He looked to his friends for affirmation.

"All the other departments except the Hero course get into U.A. through written tests and personal interviews," Akaname helpfully supplied.

"When I first stepped through the gates of this prestigious school, I was probably the most nervous student to ever appear for the entrance exam in U.A," Deku slightly chuckled though there was a sharp tint of honesty to his words – but no one could really imagine him being a nervous wreck except the ones who had known the Symbol of Peace since his earliest days. "I didn't really know how to use my Quirk as well as most of the other competitors and all of my other peers seemed to be so much stronger and amazing. I was sure I didn't stand a chance."

"Awwwww, he's so humble!" Aisen cooed, earning a hush from Akaname.

"But even so, I knew I could not give up," he stared down with a determined smile on his face, scarred fists clenched. "Because, it's as soon as you give up in your mind, in your soul, that everything is done for." He fixed the entranced crowd with burning emerald eyes that no one could look away from. "Even when the obstacles thrown at you can kill you, even when you can't move your body anymore, even when you've lost all your abilities-"

 _( 'Can I . . . be a Hero too?' )_

"-you have to keep fighting." In that moment, not a single soul spoke in the auditorium and even the rebels could not take their eyes away from the Symbol of Peace. "There are things and people and ideals you have to protect," familiar faces flashed through Deku's mind at the words, "and it is only when _you_ give up and stop believing in yourself that the battle really ends." He lightly punched the left side of his chest with the front of his fist. "Because, deep inside, no matter what you Quirk is or if you don't even have a Quirk, it is your heart that decides whether you're a Hero or not."

He stopped speaking and the entire auditorium was silent, not a single mutter escaping the lips of the barely hundred students. Deku blinked his eyes widely with panic, thinking he'd screwed up, before remembering something. "P-Plus Ultra!" he smiled awkwardly, pumping a fist in the air.

And almost all of the audience were on their feet, echoing in the loudest, clearest voices, "PLUS ULTRAAAAA!" As the students jumped up on their seats, hands clapping loud and voices cheering for him till they were hoarse, Deku continued waving at them even as he walked away from the microphone, not letting the smile leave his face till he passed through the side partition and moved backstage.

"Uuuaaaahhhh!" the No. 1 Pro Hero almost fell on his knees with nervousness, clutching at the front of his shirt with sweaty palms. "I-I hope that wasn't too bad?" he anxiously blinked up to look at his old friend Tsukuyomi, who stood leaning against a pillar and going through a clipboard.

"All Might would've been proud," the crow-headed adult gave him a small but reassuring smile and a sad smile graced the freckled Hero's lips as he straightened up.

"I hope so."

* * *

"Oh, man!" Aisen stretched his arms as the students returned to their classes from the auditorium, Deku being the central figure of gossip in their conversations. "Deku's speech really pumped me up!" The blond cheered, skipping jovially between Kenio and Habiki. "I'm gonna do really good in U.A. and become one of the top Pro Heroes of the country in the future!"

"As you'd expect from the Symbol of Peace," Kenio spoke loud enough to make sure his voice wouldn't be drowned out by the teasing Mashiro and the grumbling Akaname. "He lifted everyone's spirits up by only a short speech!" Inori trailed a little behind the group, lost in the thoughts of her emerald-eyed idol.

As the 1-A students climbed up to the first floor and turned the right corner to make way for their classroom, Inori momentarily stopped short.

"Is everything alright, Tetsuya-san?" Habiki, the first one to notice, addressed her.

She shook her head. "Just felt a little chill," she replied, starting behind them again.

"Wow, your girlfriend got into U.A. too?" Kenio and Aisen seemed to be engaged in a rather animated conversation. "Congratulations, Yuki-kun!"

"He he, thanks Nakamura!" The blond grinned, his cheeks a faint red. "Well, Helena couldn't make it today since she caught a cold during the entrance but I'm really proud of heeeeeee . . ." However, when he entered the classroom and noticed the black-clothed figure who occupied the teacher's desk, Aisen's voice trailed off and his lilac eyes bulged out almost impossibly.

"It's Tsu-Tsu-Tsu-"

"IT'S TSUKUYOMI!" A number of them chorused together at the sight of the Jet-Black Hero, amongst the top 20 Pros in the country, standing near the teacher's desk, his signature black shroud slightly fluttering due to the breeze pouring in from the open windows.

"And Dark Shadow!" Screeched the eponymous Quirk as it popped out from behind its bird-headed master, waving at the students with its shadow claw.

"I guess this is why they call it the best Hero school in the country," Habiki smiled to himself as some of his classmates immediately walked up to their new teacher with fawning gazes.

* * *

"Ahem," Tsukuyomi cleared his throat as he addressed the finally seated class – even though he was nowhere as distant and strict as Eraserhead, he was also aware that it was his former teacher's harsh mentorship that had played a major part in shaping him and his classmates into the famous 'Strongest Generation.' "As all of you disciples know," he crossed his arms, fixing everyone under his unreadable eyes, "I am Tokoyami Fumikage, the one who uses the moniker of Tsukuyomi. And I have been assigned as your homeroom teacher for your three-year tenure in U.A."

Majority of the students looked pleased with the decision.

"There is something I'd like all of you to see and reflect on before we begin classes." Saying so, he switched on the smart board on the front wall and very soon, figures and letters appeared organised together on the white screen.

All the students sat up straighter in their seats, stares burrowing through the monitor.

 **Akaname Shimizu – 100 Points – 1 h 46 m 32 s**

 **Asuna Nishiya – 150 Points – 52 m 58 s**

 **Fuma Kanashimi – 185 Points – 1 h 28 m 11 s**

 **Habiki Hara – 100 Points – 1 h 32 m 58 s**

 **Haruka Itou – 100 Points – 35 m 17 s**

 **Hoshi Fujita – 100 Points – 1 h 30 m 12 s**

 **Inori Tetsuya – 100 Points – 1 h 46 m 32 s**

 **Jack Yuki – 120 Points – 1 h 07 m 18 s**

 **Jigoku Tejina – 110 Points – 1 h 29 m 08 s**

 **Jonetsu Jobu – 115 Points – 1 h 09 m 47 s**

 **Kagami Kita – 115 Points – 1 h 09 m 51 s**

 **Kasai Hitori – 125 Points – 1 h 29 m 44 s**

 **Kazumi Enoshima – 115 Points – 1 h 15 m 07 s**

 **Kenio Nakamura – 105 Points – 1 h 50 m 17 s**

 **Koji Aizawa – 105 Points – 1 h 44 m 39 s**

 **Mashiro Madou – 105 Points – 1 h 50 m 14 s**

 **Reiko Shimamura – 110 Points – 1 h 04 m 21 s**

 **Ryo Kenshi – 135 Points – 55 m 13 s**

 **Suzuran Asagumo – 105 Points – 1 h 27 m 02 s**

 **Yasu Hanransha – 100 Points – 59 m 33 s**

"As you can clearly see, these are the statistical results of your entrance tests," Tokoyami explained, moving to the side so that everybody could see the board clearly. "While many of you have done well by clearing the course in a relatively short period of time and defeating a satisfactory number of robots, some of you did not perform as well as would be expected from a U.A. student."

The facial expressions of everyone vastly differed. Asuna sported an incredibly smug smirk, Fuma looked as disinterested as ever, while Akaname and Kenio were amongst those who had disappointed looks on their faces.

"So I hope that those of you who didn't get a chance to showcase your true abilities yet will do so at the Quirk Apprehension test." Ears immediately perked up at the words and eyes snapped towards Tsukuyomi. "Three days later, on Thursday, we'll be conducting the Quirk Apprehension Test for Class 1-A and along with the U.A. teachers allotting your scores, we'll have a special Pro Hero oversee as an honoured guest."

"Which Pro Hero?!"

"Who's coming?!"

"Could it be . . . Lemillion?!"

"Raise your hands before you ask anything, unruly disciples," a fierce glare was enough to bring all of them back in order.

"Sir!" Akaname was unsurprisingly the first one to raise his hand. When Tokoyami bid him to stand, he got up as straight as a ramrod and asked, "Could you give us more details on this Quirk Apprehension Test? From the name, I have deduced that it is something that judges the abilities and qualities of our Quirk but we've yet to figure out the details of how exactly we will have to showcase our Quirks and the basis it will be judged on. May I also ask-"

"Stop yapping already!" Ryo grumbled, left eye twitching.

"I think he's asking valid questions!" Jobu shouted, still a little incensed from their previous argument.

The green-haired boy got up from his seat and menacingly leaned towards him. "I guess you want me to break you really badly, huh?"

Jobu growled, standing up as well. "Try me, Crystallina."

Sharp, luminescent gems began to protrude out of Kenshi's shoulders. "Why, you-"

"ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!" Both boys gave out startled yelps as Dark Shadow manifested before them in its gigantic size, hovering over the shaken classroom like a dark entity that reaps death. "You aren't in middle school anymore so learn to behave yourselves, brats!" it screeched, jerking its claws viciously towards the two boys who meekly sat down, trying to suppress their frightened gazes.

Once the shadow disappeared underneath the cloak of its owner, Tsukuyomi continued nonchalantly, "Legitimate questions, Shimizu-kun. As for the Quirk Apprehension Test, we've begun a new format to carry out the examination which we'll be trying out for the first time this year."

Everyone unconsciously leaned in closer, hearts thumping deeply against hammered chests.

"All of you," Tsukuyomi nodded, looking rather pleased with the idea, "Will be showcasing your Quirks in a talent show."

". . . WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT?!"

* * *

ED 1 – **No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **QwQ You guys are way too nice to me. I keep on re-reading all your reviews and they sure brighten the day of one sad gorl. TT-TT However, my exams begin next week so I may not be able to update for two weeks or so – I will still try my best to though even if it's not on schedule! Please bear with me for some time!**


	6. Ch 5 - Ripple

OP 1 – **Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 – Ripple**

(Tuesday, 19th April, 10:04 a.m. – U.A)

"WHAAAAAAAATTTT?!" Reiko slammed her hands on the desk, her loud exclamation causing Aisen to cover his ringing ears. "A TALENT SHOW?!" The blonde's jaw dropped open as she stared incredulously at everyone in her vicinity.

"Please quieten yourself, Shimamura-san!" Akaname fervently cleaned away the drops of saliva that had landed on his face and uniform. "Homeroom may be over but we're still in the classroom!" A visible grimace could be seen underneath his pink surgical mask as he sprayed a lemon-scented sanitizer over himself.

"Mou, THAT'S why I didn't wanna miss the first day of high school!" She dropped down sloppily on her chair, arms hanging over the edges and her head resting in between.

"There, there, you couldn't have helped it, right?" Kagami comforted the girl, smiling as she patted her back. "It was your mom's birthday, after all." A crimson hue covered Reiko's face at the sentence as she hastily nodded, clearly embarrassed.

"But I'm SUPER-DUPER-WOOPER-SNOOPER excited for it!" Aisen chirped, sitting on Kenio's desk and swinging his legs back and forth. "Man, I can already think of so many ideas for what I'm gonna do!" He giggled to himself, a little giddy.

"Yuki-san," Yasu lightly tapped the boy on the shoulder, jerking his thumb in the direction of the classroom's door. "There's a girl calling for you." All of the surrounding people looked in the pointed direction and their gazes landed on a tall girl with long, black hair done up in a braided ponytail, leaning against the doorway. When she saw them looking at her, she immediately turned her head away.

"LENAAAAAAAAA!" Aisen jumped down from his desk and ran towards the door, tackling her into a hug before they disappeared into the corridor.

"Don't be exhibitionists, kiddos!" Koji called after them, earning snickers and disgusted looks in equal parts, hi-fiving Mashiro at his joke.

Asuna eye-rolled at the boy but was distracted by Suzuran's soft sigh. "How nice it must be to be able to hold someone like that . . ."

Habiki, who was sitting nearby, smiled ruefully to himself when he accidentally 'heard' the short girl's comment. _'Well . . . not always, it isn't.'_

"So have you guys already decided what you're doing for the talent show?!" Kenio excitedly asked the people around him, vermillion eyes bright and starry.

Jigoku had a confident smile gracing his handsome face. "Ace it, of course." His slender fingers were occupied with manipulating a silver coin.

"Tejina-san!" Akaname suddenly got up from his seat as the mentioned teenager turned to stare at him with a look of slight confusion. "I clearly explained to you yesterday but I can see your uniform is as tardy as ever!" Instead of the grey blazer, the tailed-boy wore a similar-coloured vest – which wouldn't have been a problem in itself but the top two buttons of his white shirt were undone and their sleeves had been folded to his forearms, exposing two tattoos of playing cards on each arm.

"Mate," Jigoku placed a soft hand on the bespectacled boy's shoulder, "I was influenced by the fashionable appearances of Kenshi-san and Hitori-san." Ryo was sitting alone reading manga while Kasai sat chatting with Jobu, even though it was obvious that the latter was doing most of the talking.

"Kenshi-san!" Jigoku sniggered as the boy marched off. "You're not allowed to read comics in class! And pull up your pants – they look like they could slide down any second!"

"I feel a little bad for Shimizu-san," Kenio commented, even though he couldn't keep away the bemused smile on his face.

As the boys continued excitedly chatting amongst themselves with some of the girls joining in, Inori sat quietly on her desk, not in the mood to join the large group that comprised of more than half of the class. However, just when she'd begun nodding off to sleep, she heard a chair being pulled up to her desk and felt an arm swinging around her shoulder. "Is Princess Nori bored?" Koji grinned at her, showing off a row of white, perfect teeth.

The years may have changed him from a short, scrawny boy to a compact, toned young man but the mischievous glint of his dark eyes, the ominous aura of his smile and his scathing humour had not been dented in the slightest. "Just a little sleepy, Koji," she replied.

"Well, our Ice Princess has certainly thawed much of her ice during middle school, it seems," the male removed his arm from around her and poised his elbow on the desk, resting his chin in his palm. Everyone seemed to be discussing and exchanging their ideas for the upcoming talent contest, loud voices intertwining together into even cacophony. "But wow, what good luck, eh?" Inori turned towards him, watching his eyes flit from the lone Fuma bent over notebooks to Asuna who was now conversing with the others, engaged in a debate with Akaname. "Four kindergarten friends reunited in high school!" He put a dramatic arm over his forehead. "What an emotional reunion!"

"Well," Inori glanced at the jade-haired boy and the twin-tailed brunette, "We weren't really friends." But if that was the truth or a half-truth, even the raven-head was unsure of.

"Oh my, how cruel-lous of you!" He made a show of an aghast guffaw before tapping his chin with his index finger, eyes turned upwards. "Well, it's sorta true though." The amused light in his eyes had faded to something . . . dark and repugnant. "Asuna-chan just followed you around like a lost little puppy, you were the only battle Fuma-kun couldn't beat for his perfect record and I . . . I was just the funny little clown watching the comedy show!" He doubled over in a fit of chuckles, laughing through his teeth.

Inori stared at him, without a reaction. "Is everything . . . really that hilarious to you?" was the only thing she asked.

And the look he turned to give her, the emotions that were buried deep behind the smile of his eyes, was the only answer she needed.

"Alright, class!" As soon as Midnight walked in, a couple of books tucked underneath her slim arms, everyone scrambled towards their own seats. "Settle down now!" Koji flashed a final grin to his classmate before walking back to his own seat.

* * *

Even though lunch-break was supposed to drag on for about twenty more minutes, some of the students of 1-A were already seated in the classroom.

"Pick any card you want, Shimamura-san," Jigoku, ever the suave gentleman, smoothly pulled a chair to the joined desks of Kagami and Reiko, interrupting their conversation.

"U-Umm . . . okay," the blonde sported the faintest of blushes on her lightly-tanned cheeks at the devilish boy's charming smile, which deepened when her nervous fingers pressed against the tight, smooth skin of his forearm. Kagami, a single eyebrow perked up, was finding it hard to not simper at the loud girl's demure change in behaviour. Reiko had now turned a visible shade of red as she pulled a card right out of Jigoku's skin, gasping as it materialised into a real playing card in her slender fingers.

"Doesn't it hurt?" she asked – but to the slight surprise of both girls, the empty space on his forearm that had been inhabited by the card had already been replaced by a new one.

"Not at all, love," the boy shrugged, his fangs glistening from under his smirk as the cute blonde flushed deeper at his choice of address. "Now, both of you, look at the card but don't show it to me," he leaned back on his chair in a gesture of show and the girls tilted forward to look at the card in Reiko's hand. They would be lying if they said they weren't at least a little curious. "Have you girls memorised it?" he asked, one blood-red eye open. They nodded in synchronisation. "Good, now put it under your desk." The blonde complied.

Then, Jigoku again tilted forward towards the duo and offered the opposite hand to Kagami. "Now, Kita-san, you pick a card as well," he asked and the turquoise-haired girl nodded, completely calm unlike her friend as she peeled away a card from his skin. "See it without showing it to me and keep it underneath your desk." Both girls checked out the second card and Kagami placed it under her own desk.

Drumming his fingers until she was done, Jigoku turned to both girls and asked, "So, loves, you both agree that I could not have seen or did not touch the cards in any way, shape or form?" Both nodded, Reiko much more vigorously. "So you can affirm I am not cheating in any way?" They nodded again, impatience blatantly visible on the blonde's face. "Well then . . .," as the amethyst-haired boy let his words trail off, he placed both his palms flat over the desk and rubbed them over the wooden surface twice in the opposing directions and back, till they'd covered the whole table from their adjoining sides.

He tapped loudly on the desk thrice before getting up from his seat and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Check them once," he commented smugly before walking towards the door.

Both girls stared after him for a few seconds before quickly fetching the cards from their desks, bubbling with curiosity as they turned the cards around. The one Reiko had picked had been a 4 of hearts while Kagami had got a 7 of clover. And now . . .

The 7 of clover lay in Reiko's palms while Kagami stared at the 4 of hearts she held. Exchanging an incredulous look with her friend, the blonde shot up from her desk and ran towards Jigoku as he disappeared out of the doorway. "Hey, Tejina! Hey! At least tell us how you did it! SECRETS AREN'T FAIR!" Kagami stared as both figures disappeared in the corridors, the ponytail girl's voice still echoing in the class, but decided it wasn't worth the effort to follow them. Besides, she hadn't thought of anything for the talent show yet and thought it better to use the time alone to come up with some ideas.

"And then they join forces and band together with their respective allies to vanquish the evil together!" Meanwhile, Kenio was animatedly explaining his show routine to the audience of Mashiro, Habiki, Aisen and Kasai on the other side end of the class.

"That's so cool, Nakamura!" Aisen clapped his hands together, face beaming with delighted anticipation. "I can't taco the excitement anymore!"

"Me too, me too~!" Mashiro giggled, sitting quite close to the blond he had gelled rather easily and quickly with. Cupping his face with an eerie smile plastered on, he cooed, "I can't wait to see Thanos-kun be splattered into squishy-squishy pieces of flesh!"

Everyone awkwardly laughed at the comment but when Habiki accidentally prodded into the mind of the snow-haired boy, he backed out immediately in horror. _'What a terrifying labyrinth,'_ even the look of a few seconds had almost made him throw up his omurice. _'If this guy would've been a villain,'_ he discreetly looked up to glance at the giggling boy, _'. . . that would've been a nightmare.'_

"Your plan is really wonderful," Kasai stated in his raspy tone, words filtered through the respirator attached to his lower face. "But it's also gonna take a lot of time, effort and energy to be able to pull it off successfully."

"That's not a problem at all!" Kenio confidently grinned. "This time, I'll make sure to save up all my energy so I can pull off everything as excellently as I want!" Flashes of his near-accident and loss of composure during the entrance exam plagued him – those incidents would take time for the ginger to get over.

"This Talent Show was such a good idea – U.A. teachers are really to be commended!" Aisen exclaimed, stretching his arms over his head. "I'm so exlighted to perform and see what everyone else does!"

Habiki sighed, placing his face between his palms. "That's good for you guys but I still haven't been able to think of anything interesting." He blew one of his curly fringes out of his face.

"I'm in the same boat, Hara-san," Kasai mumbled, fingers playing with one of the buds of his white earphones. "I can't think of anything noteworthy except a flame-throwing show."

"I can help you guys with some ideas!~" Mashiro cooed, leaning close towards the two boys, wide eyes blinking. Both felt just the tiniest bit of intimidation at the unreadable aura emerging from those abyssal pupils.

"Yeah, I'm sure we can all think of something interesting if we all put our heads together!" Kenio spoke up as well, accompanied by Aisen enthusiastically nodding his head. Kasai and Habiki exchanged unsure glances before the latter replied:

"Sure, why not?" with a thankful smile on his face.

* * *

 _( "You're so ugly! Such a monster!"_

" _I've heard snakes don't like fire, right?"_

" _No, DON'T! DON'T!"_

 _Screams, so many of them. So loud. So noisy._

 _Stop, she wanted them to stop._

 _STOPSTOP_ _ **STOPSTOP**_ _-_

' _It burns.' )_

When a small shadow fell over her face, acidic eyes snapped open and Kazumi had raised herself up with a thrust from her tail within seconds, pushing the intruder to the floor. As the appendage wrapped around the small figure, the alarms in her mind immediately dissipated when she saw the person pinned underneath her. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, irritated at being disturbed.

Hoshi Fujita, instead of looking terrified or angry, smiled warmly at the figure hovering over her – both girls possessed yellow eyes but while Kazumi's were the colour of tart sulphur, Hoshi's were kind honey. "I came up here to explore but I saw you sleeping so peacefully it was endearing to look at." That smile of hers – so trusting and friendly . . .

It almost made the redhead vomit.

The tawny girl roughly let go of her tinier classmate and drew away, staring down at her with pursed lips. "Next time, I won't be sssssssssso gentle." It was too bad – the sun was warm and the rooftop was rather secluded so she'd thought she wouldn't be bothered by any of the annoying, wannabe, Hero-worshipping classmates she was doomed with. But next time anyone, even if it was someone frail and small like the blue-haired girl, perturbed her . . .

' _I'll have to adopt some of my middle school tactics.'_

"You're not as harsh as you showcase, are you, Enoshima-san?" The lamia had only turned to slither to a more hidden corner on the terrace before she was stopped short by those words. Looking back, Hoshi was still smiling at her – like she didn't fear the heavy, bulking tail which could squash her bones with ease or her merciless eyes raging with hatred or her bitter personality that kept everyone away.

"What makesssssss you sssssssay that?" the girl forced out, curious but also trying to contain herself and not strangle the other.

Hoshi turned her eyes upwards in thought before explaining, "You had a sad look on your face right now, when you were sleeping . . . like you wanted somebody to come and help you."

The words cut deeply somewhere in a forgotten edge of Kazumi's heart.

Before even a second could tick by, the red tail had shot out and grabbed the freckled girl tightly around her shoulders – it was a little painful but Kazumi was definitely not trying to mash her into a ball of flesh.

 _Yet._

"People sssssssshouldn't put their nossssssessssss where they aren't required, you know?" She had pulled the girl towards herself, their faces so close the shorter one could feel her hot breath fan over her – and those eyes looked like they were striving to paralyse her, just like Medusa's. "Otherwissssssssse," the tip of the lamia's tale slowly caressed the girl's face, inching with tantalising waves over the speckled skin, "They can loosssssssse their nossssssssesssssss." And the tip softly knocked against Hoshi's small nose before the lamia unwound her tail for a second time and pulled it away.

The other girl quietly stared down at her feet, stroking her nose with her thumb and Kazumi drew away with a satisfied smirk. Once again, she had proved power was ultimate. No one could stand in the face of it once they realised their own weakness. _'Serves her right, this meddlesome twit,'_ she eyed the silent, bowed figure scornfully. _'The weak and frail shouldn't even try to meet eyes with the powerful.'_

But when she'd turned around to walk away, she heard the soft voice call out again.

"Enoshima-san."

Quiet but firm, like solid silk.

Kazumi turned around, wondering if the airhead required a more severe warning – but the slightly flushed smile on Hoshi's face momentarily took away all words from her lips.

"You're really weird, Enoshima-san," the girl giggled, the friendliness in her eyes undiminished as she stared up at her tenderly. "I like you."

* * *

 **Student: Jigoku Tejina**

 **Quirk: Cards**

 **Jigoku can pull out cards made of iron from the playing card tattoos on both his arms. These cards can be as thick or as thin, as blunt or as sharp as he wants and have small pockets in them which can be used to hide things. However, they're all the shape of standard playing cards.**

 **P.S: He is extremely skilled at all kinds of parlour tricks and specialises in using coins and playing cards.**

* * *

(Wednesday, 20th April, 12:28 p.m. – U.A.)

" . . . So," Kasai scratched the back of his head in order to ease some of his nervousness, slightly anxious under the watchful gazes of Kenio, Habiki, Mashiro and Aisen. "That's all . . . I guess." He'd just finished narrating an idea for his routine in the talent show and awaited criticism from the audience.

Which was why he was pleasantly surprised when all four boys burst into applause with huge smiles on their faces. "That's a wonderful idea, Hitori-san!" Kenio was the first to yell an encouragement and the pale boy felt his cheeks heat up underneath his respirator. He gave a short, awkward bow and walked back to his seat from where he'd been standing near the teacher's desk, Aisen patting him enthusiastically on the back when he sat back on his chair. A warm, happy feeling bloomed in Kasai's chest at everyone's welcoming eyes and impressed smiles. If this went on . . .

If this went on, he could start forgetting the hateful glares and terrified stares he was used to.

"Are you guys discussing the talent show tomorrow?" Akaname spoke as he entered the class, a pile of books collected under his arm which he'd just borrowed from the library. Except the five boys and the new entrant, the room was completely empty.

"Aka-chi!" Mashiro jumped from his seat and gave his bespectacled friend a tight hug, ignoring the flushed boy's attempts to push him away. Stepping away after some time and folding his hands behind his back, he exclaimed, "You know, you know, Kasa-chi has a really cool idea for the show tomorrow!" Akaname's dark eyes flitted towards the blue-haired boy who was involved in conversation with the rest of his classmates. "It's gonna be so much fun, you know!" Mashiro giggled but when he looked up . . . the pink-haired boy's gaze held a look of unfiltered disgust in them as they stared at Kasai.

And that look disappeared as soon as it'd appeared. "I hope you're also working hard on your plans for the show, Madou-san," the boy stated calmly like nothing had happened and walked to his own seat after patting the snow-haired boy on the shoulder. Mashiro stood rooted to his spot for some time, the gears in his brain turning.

"So that's how it is," a broad grin tore his lips all the way to the corners of his cheeks, black eyes glinting mischievously.

* * *

(Wednesday, 20th April, 4:19 p.m. – U.A.)

' _. . . I still can't think of anything.'_

Inori suppressed her urge to rake in a deep sigh and let the disappointment fill her lungs as she slowly ambled through the U.A. grounds – the sun, now a regressing shade of orange, slowly descended in the western sky of Musutafu, emanating tints of vermillion in the bright sapphire of its surroundings. Classes were over and most people had started to head home but a majority of the 1-A students had decided to hang back in the class and finesse their plans for the show tomorrow through discussions with each other. And she, on the other hand, hadn't even thought of anything basic to showcase.

' _. . . Maybe I should've just taken Kenio up on his offer of help.'_ She finally released her sigh, quiet and tired. However, she wasn't really in the mood to tolerate anymore noise and her classmates could create enough of it to fill an entire auditorium. (If she could correctly remember, her kindergarten class had been more silent than the current Class 1-A of U.A. High). And besides . . .

Asuna wouldn't be very comfortable if she decided to stay back.

Heading out of the large gate amidst a throng of students, most of who were ogling at her and whispering amongst each other, the raven plugged in her earphones and quickly exited to the left sidewalk outside. A familiar black BMW patiently waited in the parking zone. The whispers of the surrounding students increased as the girl quickly climbed into the backseat, eager to be away from the scrutiny of watchful eyes, and slammed the car door shut.

At least her classmates treated her like a normal teenager, even though they were annoyingly loud and a certain blond bamboozled her with the weirdest questions.

"Inori-sama." A middle-aged chauffeur respectfully greeted her with a bowed head, his black uniform stainless and impeccable while a velvet cap sat over perfectly brushed brown locks. The girl only gave a nod in reply, music blasting in her ears as the car sped away from all the judging and prying gazes.

The sombre atmosphere in the vehicle let Inori's thoughts run, which was almost impossible amidst the din and clamour of school. She leaned back against the plush seat, staring out of the tinted windows as faces, figures, vehicles and buildings outside all mingled in an indistinct blur. She couldn't help the disappointment that arose in her heart – while all of her classmates were busy refurbishing, discussing and practicing their routines, she hadn't even thought of anything yet. _'Only if Erika or Nagi were here . . .'_ In middle school, when team Tenshi was still together, the group leader and the strategist were the ones who did the majority of the thinking. But here, Inori was alone and she realised she had to start thinking for herself.

If only creativity was one of her strong suits . . .

She let her gaze flit idly to the window and immediately, her head shot forward.

The reflection of an ugly monster, with murderous eyes and a blood-stained smile, was staring back.

"No!" she hissed under her breath and tore away her earphones, flinging them on the floor of the car – a hand shot up to cover her right eye while the other clutched at her chest, trying to soothe the sudden burning that had erupted there.

She realised she was shaking.

' _But why . . . why . . . I haven't done anything wrong . . .'_

In the front seat, the chauffeur, Yuzuriha, continued driving unperturbedly.

Slowly, swallowing all her uncertainty and nervousness, the raven let her gaze flit back to the black windows, the chatter of the people outside, the honking of vehicles, the screeching of car tires all seeming miles away.

Black hair, silver eyes, the face of a human with pale lips . . . It was _her,_ the real _her_ that stared back.

Satisfied, she tilted back against the seat and closed her eyes. Of course it was _her._ That'd just been a split-second delusion.

 _( "And who's the real you, Inori?"_

 _The human? . . . Or the monster?" )_

* * *

(Thursday, 21st April, 10:02 a.m. – U.A)

"Remember, budding disciples," Tsukuyomi tapped the files in his hands on the desk to arrange them, "The Quirk Apprehension test starts sharp at 10:30 a.m. in Gym Gamma so no one should be even a second late." The Jet Black Hero's eyes were as inscrutable and stern as ever and at his instructions, a chorus of affirmations rose from the nodding crowd. He nodded shortly at them in reply and as he walked out of the class, majority of the students stood up and bowed after their teacher at Akaname's instructions.

"Aka-chi is already acting like the class president!" Mashiro hugged the guy from behind, nuzzling his head against his back.

"Well," he fixed his spectacles with an air of pride as he spoke, "Someone must take responsibility to discipline this rowdy class."

"And the homosexual control freak's gotta be that 'someone', I suppose," Ryo couldn't help drawling out a jab, feet resting on his desk and chair leaning back halfway.

Akaname's head whipped back at the insult and his eyes narrowed into fierce black slits when he noticed the speaker. "Kenshi-san, your pants are sagging again!" he tore away from Mashiro to march towards him. "And that is no way to sit in class! Also, where's your tie?!"

As the students began to engage in their usual aggressive conversations and noisy antics, Kenio couldn't help glancing longingly at the open door. Habiki, who occupied the desk to the right of the ginger, noticed his fidgeting. "Nakamura-san, is everything alright?" he asked, closing the book he was reading.

"Ah!" The freckled teen seemed to snap out of his reverie, flashing his classmate an assuring smile. "Yeah, everything's okay! I was just wondering why Tetsuya-san isn't here yet." The ginger would be lying if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit worried. Inori wasn't someone who appeared to be a tardy person to him and she definitely wouldn't play hooky on such an important day . . .

"Awwwww, that's adorable." Jigoku, who sat nearby and had heard their conversation, playfully cooed. "Don't worry mate, your girlfriend must've just overslept or must be stuck in traffic."

Kenio immediately flushed pink, stammering, "S-She isn't my girlfriend!" The mauve-skinned boy chuckled at his reaction and the way his eyes had grown wide and alarmed.

"Even Asagumo-san isn't here yet!" Asuna stated exasperatedly with crossed arms, walking over to the boys. Although her brows were knit in annoyance and her face harboured a scowl, subtle concern was visible in her eyes. "It's really careless of both of them to be late today of all days!" It was then that everyone realised that along with the expressionless Tetsuya princess, the shy and quiet Suzuran wasn't in class either.

Koji tilted back on his chair to snigger at the brunette from the front seat of a parallel row. "Is Asuna-chan jealous?" he coyly guffawed, smirking mouth half-covered with a palm. "Don't worry, even if Inori-chan and Asagumo-chan are on a date, you still have a chance to sabotage it and claim one of them for yourself!" The boy puffed out a chortle, deftly dodging the steel pen case the furious girl threw at his head.

"SHUT UP, YOU CLOWN!"

Reiko laughed at the antics of the two but couldn't help wondering aloud, "Though I really wonder where the fuck those two are? They always come to class before time."

Akaname, whose lecturing had shifted to Jigoku and his 'indecently exposed chest', exclaimed a loud gasp directed at the blonde. "Shimamura-san! Cussing is extremely licentious, especially for a model female student from the prestigious U.A. high school!"

The girl placed her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow at him challengingly. "And from which angle do I look like a 'model' student to you?"

Habiki harboured a small smile on his face as he shook his head at the lively atmosphere. "Don't worry, Nakamura-san," he patted the ginger on the back, "I'm sure Tetsuya-san will turn up soon." He nodded to Asuna as an addition. "And so will Asagumo-san."

"They're probably just holed up somewhere."

* * *

(Thursday, 21st April, 9:17 a.m. – U.A.)

It hurt. It hurt like shit.

There was a fading ringing in her ears, burning through her eardrums and creating a painful throb in her head. Her eyes were still blurry and tearing up from the bright flash earlier but as she flexed her fingers and stretched her toes, nothing seemed to be broken. She could feel all her limbs and despite the pulsating pain on her back and legs, she knew she could at least run – even if not fight back – should circumstances call for it. But realisation that there was a small figure bundled in her arms dawned on her – long, soft hair pooled over her right arm, and her fingers, when stretched, brushed against something rough and bristling.

Her vision finally stabilising a little, Inori slowly opened her eyes and, through the hot tears, was greeted with the sight of a very familiar rose-coloured head. The other girl's eyes were still closed and her breathing was shallow but at least her chest was moving and her face was contorting in pain.

' _Good, she's alive.'_

Things slowly started coming back to her as the ringing in her head died. She'd been running late and so had her petite classmate, Asagumo Suzuran. She had offered a ride to the timid girl, who had shyly accepted but when they'd reached the secluded Shiguna neighbourhood near U.A . . .

A bright flash was the last thing she remembered.

' _What . . . happened?'_ She let her arms unwrap from around Suzuran and slowly tried to sit up, despite the killing ache in her back. Once the floating dust around them settled, she moved her head around gradually to get a better view of her surroundings.

Her eyes were left as wide as saucers.

A good hundred metres of the area around them was demolished – a dozen or so vehicles lay upturned on the damaged gravel, alarms going off and the sound of people yelling could be heard. As Suzuran uttered a soft moan, Inori had another flashback – one of kicking the car door open and pulling the girl along with her as soon as a violent earth wave had taken down the cars in front of them.

' _Yuzuriha-san . . .,'_ the raven-head pursed her lips in order to ignore her protesting legs as she tried to get up, worried about the years-old family chauffeur, the man who had been one of the constants in her life since childhood. The black BMW lay over-turned a good distance away, its wheels still rolling. _'No,'_ dark, negative thoughts began intruding her mind as she finally got up on her unsteady feet, _'Please be alive . . .'_

"Tet . . . suya . . . –san?"

She stopped and turned towards the source of the voice – Suzuran was awake but it was obvious she was still in a state of delirium, staring at the taller girl with hazy and unfocused amethyst eyes. The half-up crown her long locks were always braided in were now in tangled disarray and draped all over her pale, dirt-smeared face. Her uniform was ripped in a few places and her knees were skinned but from what Inori could see, she wasn't very injured.

However, for some reason, Suzuran's eyes widened and the long spider legs that erupted out of her back start trembling.

Her gaze was fixed on something behind the grey-eyed girl, filled with-

' _Fear.'_

"Tet . . . Tetsuya-san . . ."

Inori whipped her head around just in time to see the outline of a black figure become clear amidst the outline of all the dust. Her brows narrowing, she stiffened her body and clenched her fists, forming a protective stance before her classmate.

"Oh my," the soft voice of a woman, punctuated with a light-hearted giggle, spoke, "Looks like I landed a little distance away from my original destination." Long tendrils of straight, black hair fluttered before the eyes of the two teenagers, even as the screams of people in the distance pierced their ears.

A child was crying.

The figure that walked towards them was definitely of a woman but neither could make out her face because of the long, brown trench coat she donned with the neck pulled up to cover her face. And her eyes were shadowed by a dark brim hat that sat perfectly stable upon her head.

It was like the attack that had destroyed the surroundings of a good hundred metres had not left a single stain of grime or a scratch on her.

Heeled black boots came to a stop only a few metres away from the two U.A. students. "But even if I am a little lost, I seem to have found two little guides who could take me there." As she fixed her hat, two pairs of shiny blue eyes glinted at them from a shadowed face. "You beautiful young ladies _will_ help an older lost woman, won't you?"

Seconds away from partly transforming, Inori was stopped short by someone grabbing her arm – and a figure running past her.

"Get back, children!"

It didn't take too long for her to recognise the woman. She immediately rushed to Suzuran and slung the small girl over her shoulder, wincing at the sharp jolt that coursed through her back as a result. But most of her attention was engaged by the black-haired, red-dressed figure who donned heavy-looking gauntlets on her athletic arms as she attacked the trench coat Villain.

And both girls immediately let out quiet exhales of relief. For now that the strongest female Pro Hero, Creati, was here, they knew they were absolutely safe.

The trench coat lady, however, dodged the fast and powerful strike aimed at her by cart-wheeling back. "Oh my, looks like our little kitty party has an unwanted guest." She dodged another punch from Creati by side-stepping but a high-kick hit her square in the stomach, causing the woman to drop on the ground on her knees, her hat falling off her head.

"I think Tartarus would be a good place to hold your kitty party," Creati loomed over the fallen Villain with a dark look, animating capture weapons from her cleavage to restrain her.

A raspy giggle escaped the woman's lips as she stared at her opponent from behind the curtain of her looming bangs. "That sounds nice . . .," the Pro Hero flinched as she saw a peek of the woman's face from behind her trench coat. ". . . But I'm afraid I haven't made enough preparations for the party yet."

As her lipless mouth widened into a sickening grin, the Creati's eyes widened in realisation and she immediately whipped around, breaking into a run. "GET DOWN, BOTH OF YOU!" she screamed at the two girls.

Everything after that happened too fast.

Inori dropped to the floor, taking Suzuran along with her and just as a powerful blast exploded behind the adult woman, she slid to the floor, stopping right in front of the two girls. A huge shockwave flashed violently around the whole area and if not for the large, sturdy shield the Pro Hero held up in defence, the three females would've probably not survived.

Inori and Suzuran had both clamped their hands over their ears in order to block some of the deafening ringing but since Creati couldn't let go of the shield, it wasn't long before her ears started bleeding. However, except a slight flinch, her face was still contorted into an expression of determined sobriety.

When the bright blaze died down, she finally peeked out from behind the shield, specialised goggles fit over her eyes. But even with their dust permeation, there was no sign of the trench coat woman anywhere.

"Tch . . . I was careless . . .," she muttered under her breath, disappointment crushing her mind.

"C-Creati-san," she turned back to look at one of the girls she'd protected – the one with the long, magenta hair and protruding spider legs. "You're hurt."

Touched by her concern, she flashed her a reassuring smile, ejecting two balls of cotton from her chest. "Ah, this?" she spoke in as cheerful a tone as she could, wiping the blood off light-heartedly. "Don't worry, this is nothing! My ears will heal as good as new in no time!"

Both girls had signs of relief settle on their faces and the smaller one even offered Todoroki Momo a tender smile. "Thank you . . . for saving us." This time, it was the taller of the two who spoke, bowing gratefully and the other girl followed suit.

"What are you girls saying?!" Creati flustered a little – even more than a decade of hero work hadn't let her become used to the more prostrate expressions of gratitude people showcased. She patted both the girls on their heads and smiled, "I'm just glad both of you are not too hurt. But do not worry, I shall accompany you to the nearest hospit-" However, her words were cut off when she noticed the familiar grey uniforms both of them donned.

"On the other hand," there was a blatant skip in her tone as she continued, "I know of a place where you can get better treatment than a hospital. And it was where I was originally headed to, anyway."

Police sirens blared in the distance and amidst the clouds of broken gravel and dust, a yellow Porsche drove into the scene, skidding to a manoeuvred stop right behind the smiling woman.

"Once I'm done giving a statement to the police", Momo turned to the direction of an assembled group of police cars which were accompanied by a couple of ambulances, "let's make our way to your school, shall we?"

* * *

ED 1 – **No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **I apologise for not being able to update last week but since I had a tight exam schedule, it was rather impossible. However, since all my major exams are over, we can revert back to our regular update schedule so yay!**

 **Thanks to all my lovely readers for their encouraging reviews and wishes! It really, really means a lot to me. Also, kudos to HotSoup2017 for figuring out the Kuroko no Basuke reference in the names of team TENSHI. XD As a reward, you can ask me a** _ **ny one**_ **question about the story in a PM and I'll answer it! (Beware, spoilers at your own risk though)**

 **I love hearing about the conjectures, theories, opinions and guesses you guys make – I'll always be peppering my story with Easter Eggs so all the observant ones who notice them may get small rewards! ;)**


	7. Ch 6 - Show it Off!

**(Note: Site Alpha referred to in the last chapter has been edited to Gym Gamma. The error is regretted.)**

* * *

OP 1 – **Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Show It Off!**

(Thursday, 21st April, 9:56 a.m. – U.A)

". . . over matters for now."

Inori and Suzuran sat outside a dimly lit meeting room in a corridor of U.A. High, located at quite a distance from the main building and seated at the end of a long passage. Creati was inside the room, engaged in a soft yet intense discussion with Eraserhead and a few of the other teachers, leaving the two first years outside. The Pro Hero had given them a warm smile and told them that someone would come to accompany them to the infirmary.

"Ah, I did have an inkling it would be someone from Class 1-A!"

It was a familiarly husky voice that suddenly spoke to them – the R-rated Hero, Midnight, marched up to the two girls, the years not having diminished her beauty. Even though she was supposed to be in her mid to late forties, except some barely visible fine lines on her face, the dark-haired woman was still a youthful beauty with a fit, sexy figure.

Cheerfully patting them on their shoulders, she helped both girls to their feet. "Let's get you both patched up, alright?" Inori had an inkling that the wide smile on her face was there to help ease them out of their near-death experience – really, what would've happened if Creati hadn't been on her way to U.A?

As the female trio retraced the path Momo had brought the girls through, the raven-head couldn't help but silently glance through the slightly ajar door – Creati, Eraserhead, Nezu, Present Mic, Cementoss . . . and a couple of other figures she couldn't clearly see.

"A-Ano, Midnight-sensei . . .," Suzuran was so quiet that if not for the absolute silence around them, disrupted only by their footsteps, it would've been impossible to hear her.

"Hmm?" the woman half-turned back to face the girl but continued walking.

"W-W-Well . . . actually . . . we-we . . .," the small student's face turned as pink as her hair under Midnight's sapphire gaze, ". . . we were supposed to . . . have ou-our . . . Quirk Apprehension test today . . ." Her sentence branched off into an inaudible mumble at the end, two of her spider legs hovering to cover her face.

"Ah, that's going to begin in half an hour from what Tsukuyomi-sensei told me," the woman replied – the trio had now exited the back building and were walking across a small courtyard shadowed by almond trees, headed towards the main building. Quirking an eyebrow, she asked, "Are you guys sure you're okay enough to perform in the talent show today?"

Inori was about to blurt a "No" but Suzuran spoke up first. "I-I was hoping to . . . actually . . ." She couldn't help but flit her gaze at the bowed girl at those surprising words, who seemed to almost shudder under her cold grey eyes. Two more spider legs flitted to her face but underneath their shadow and the cover of her long hair, the tips of her ears were a distinct red.

' _Looks like she isn't as frail as she seems.'_

Midnight was quiet for some time as they climbed up a flight of stairs to the first floor, where the infirmary was located as Inori remembered from during the entrance test. Sliding the door open, the Pro Hero finally replied to Suzuran, "We'll let your doctor decide that, okay?"

The infirmary was a spacious room which was neatly decked with various medical equipment, many of them high-end and expensive, and widely spaced beds that had curtains partitioning them for privacy. In a corner of the room hunched a white coat-donning figure, typing away furiously on a computer. But at the sound of Midnight's voice, the man turned around . . .

And both girls burst into deep shades of crimson, heat overflowing their faces and blood pounding in their ears.

"Ah, good morning, Midnight-sensei," he greeted, shutting down his computer.

Why were there such bright sparkles around his face?!

"Good morning, Recovery Man," she nodded, pushing the two girls gently in his direction. "I know you've been busy with examining supply lists but can you just quickly check up on these girls?"

"Not a problem at all." Voice as silken as the smoothest velvet flowed from pink lips and the smile that flourished across his young, handsome face looked like it could seduce the most hardened criminal in Tartarus. His hair was the colour of cherries and slung over his shoulder in a loose ponytail with locks draped over his face in alluring curtains, half-shadowing lidded green eyes.

As he got up from his chair and slowly walked up to the girls, Inori clenched her teeth in order to will away the blush on her cheeks. _'No, I like Deku and only Deku!'_ While Suzuran's vision was starting to become a little wobbly and her body felt like it was burning up. _'Am I . . . getting a fever?'_ She placed the tip of a spider leg on her forehead.

"Hmm, let me see." The man bent down before the rose-haired girl and gently removing her spider legs with a smooth, fair hand and placed a cool palm on her forehead. "Well, she does feel a bit warm but- Ehh?!"

He was quick to catch the collapsed girl in his arms – her eyes were spinning around in lopsided circles on her scarlet face. "Oh no!" Midnight worriedly exclaimed, placing a supportive arm behind the girl's head. "She fainted due to over-exhaustion!"

Inori quietly stared as the redhead teacher carried the girl in his arms and placed her on a bed, things quietly falling into place in her head as both teachers worriedly checked the girl's pulse.

"I don't think she fainted due to over-exhaustion, sensei . . .," she mumbled, a blank look on her face.

* * *

"Shoto-san is investigating the site along with Tsuyu-san and Shouji-san." Creati switched off her phone and placed it inside her purse, worry darkening her face. Everyone else present stared at her apprehensively, waiting for her next statement. "Although there have been no casualties, there is a missing person – a middle-aged man named Kasanoda. He was in the area with his niece but she says that he disappeared somewhere between her passing out during the explosion and getting rescued."

Present Mic's face stiffened, mirroring the tension that was visible in everyone's expressions. "You don't think he's . . ."

No one said a thing for a good few minutes – the initial disappointment Momo had felt was now enveloping her in a heavy blanket of guilt and regret. If only she'd reached earlier . . . or had knocked the Villain out . . .

"It's likely." Eraserhead forced out the bitter words no one wanted to admit and the Everything Hero pressed a hand over her mouth.

"I'm so sorry," she was slightly shaking, her lids drooping, "It's all my-"

"It is not at all your fault, Momo-chan." Nezu cut her sentence off gently as he patted her on the shin – there was no room for any argument left when he used that voice. "If you hadn't been there, we would've lost a lot more people and two of our young students."

"That's right, kiddo!" Present Mic cheerfully patted her on the shoulder, flashing a thumbs up. Over the years, he had trimmed his long, gelled locks to a short, buzzed crop. "Don't blame yourself like that! If she hadn't run away, you would've totally knocked her out!" Creati took in a deep breath to stabilise her, briefly exchanging a look with her old homeroom teacher who assuaged her guilt with one shake of his head.

"For now, let the police and the other Pros handle the work," Eraserhead sighed, pulling his scarf firmer around his tired, lined face. "We still have some things of our own to do."

"Are we still gonna hold the Talent Show?" Creati asked, looking slightly uneasy about the idea.

"Of course." It was Nezu who replied, walking towards the door of the room and fully opening it. Faint rays of light entered and lit up the dark room in a humble, soft glow. "If we cancel the test after this, it will only prove that we have bowed to the misdemeanour of the Villains. Something like this," for a small rodent with a supple voice, the determination that shone on his face was admirable, "Should not tie down the education of our children. This is U.A." He glanced at Momo with encouragement.

The adult woman couldn't help herself from smiling back as memories of her own high school years fluttered into her mind – the friendships, the struggles, the pain, the happiness . . .

"You're right, sensei." Her smile emboldened. "After all, that is what I originally came here for . . . and I don't plan to leave without seeing the new talent this year has brought."

* * *

 _( "You're so beautiful, baby."_

 _Cold jewels glinting under sunlight. )_

". . . –san."

 _( "You're my perfection."_

 _So many lights. )_

". . . gumo . . ."

 _( A red mouth smiled at her._

" _. . . My baby. Suzu." )_

". . . Asagumo-san."

Her eyes flew wide open and she found herself staring into pits of icy steel. Inori loomed over her like a dark, beautiful apparition.

Suzuran was used to the feeling of stretching out towards figures of beauty, her short fingers always out of reach.

". . . How long . . . have I been out?" she tentatively asked, hands clasping at supple bed sheets. Someone had thrown a cover over her body and her long hair spilled over the pillow under her head, cascading over the edges of the bed. Her spider legs were splayed around, digging into her back – but over all these years, she had become used to that dull ache.

Like so many other things.

"Thirty minutes." The blunt reply sank the girl's heart. Did it mean she wouldn't be able to give the test anymore? After all the brainstorming and planning she'd done? Inori, however, was not done with her sentence. "Recovery Man said you can give your test if you feel well enough." Amethyst eyes brightened a little at those words.

"That's . . . such a relief," Suzuran smiled faintly and it was then that Inori realised the girl was rather beautiful, behind her painful shyness and dark spider legs that always drifted around her like vengeful pincers. And there was that faint knock in her memory that made her feel she recognised her from somewhere.

"Tsukuyomi-sensei was here to see us," the raven thought to add as she walked to the neighbouring bed, the one she'd been occupying, and pulled the curtains after her. "He asked us to come to Gym Gamma if we decide to perform in the show."

The thought that she had been sleeping in front of such important people caused Suzuran to fluster again and her small, fair hands clenched the covers as she sat up. Marvelling at how quickly the ache through her body had disappeared, she checked her legs – they were bandaged but she couldn't feel the burning of peeled skin anymore. Watching Inori climb into bed from the shadow behind the white curtains, she found the courage to sputter, "T-Tetsuya-san . . . will be giving the test?"

Although her last words had disappeared into a mumble again, the other girl more or less realised what she asked. "No." Her quick reply made two of Suzuran's spider legs float to her face and cover them, the girl quickly shrinking into herself as she worried if she'd asked too invasive a question. However, Inori added in a gentler tone, "I haven't really thought of anything to showcase."

"R-Really?" she couldn't help the surprised exclamation – it was hard to believe such words when it was Tetsuya Inori, one of the strongest members of the prodigious Team TENSHI, saying them. Ever since her popularity had shot up during middle school, Suzuran had been passively following her – an ice-cold beauty with a powerful Quirk. She was the subject of admiration for many people.

Including hers.

Having expected no reply to her question, Suzuran quietly slid her legs over the side of the bed and noticing someone had neatly folded and kept her uniform on the bedside table, she clutched her black stockings from on top of the pile and pulled them over her thin legs. At the same time, she used two of her spider legs to put on her tie while buttoning up her grey blazer with another two. Someone had skilfully sewed the rips in it and having an inkling that it was Recovery Man, she put away a mental note to thank him when she next saw him.

In order to accommodate her Quirk, both her white shirt and blazer had low cuts on the back that tapered off just a little above her waist. Initially, she had been afraid of showing so much of her skin, it was something she had to get used to as her Quirk developed over the years.

Slipping her feet into her black Mary Jane's, the girl sat on the edge of the bed for some time, contemplating. "T-Tetsuya-san." Her soft voice elicited a rustle from the next bed. "I . . . I . . .," it was hard to elicit the words but Suzuran was determined to say them at any cost. "T-Thank you . . .!" she clenched her fists, speaking a little louder than she meant to – and immediately becoming flustered over it.

But taking a deep breath, she continued.

". . . F-For saving me . . . back then . . ."

Even if most of her memories were muddled, she remembered Inori throwing open the car door and pushing both of them out, causing them to be much less injured than they would've been. And she would never forget the look of her straight back as she stood defensively in front of her own useless body, daring to glare at the Villain whose mere visage had made Suzuran's whole body go numb.

' _But I . . .,'_ she felt hot tears surge to her eyes – she had been paralysed and unable to even properly move. If not for Inori and Creati . . .

She would've . . .

 _She would've . . ._

' _. . . I'm so pathetically weak.'_

The raven lay on her side, head lying on her hand, listening to the hushed sniffles of her classmate. She was bereft of any word or gesture of comfort, unable to sympathise with the small girl's quiet tears and feeble feelings. But her words had hit her somewhere, in some repressed corner of her heart.

' _Saving, huh?'_ She closed her eyes, sudden drowsiness overcoming her – she was reminded of the same words Kenio had told her, days ago.

 _( "You saved me twice." )_

' _If only they knew the truth . . .'_

* * *

(Thursday, 21st April, 10:24 a.m. – U.A)

As the doors to Gym Gamma opened, varied expressions of awe and wonder flashed through the faces of the eighteen 1-A students.

"Dude, this is freaking awesome, ya know?!" Jobu was the first one to exclaim, a wide grin exposing his row of sharp teeth. Nods and exclamations of agreement escaped everyone and even the more stoic ones, Haruka, Kazumi and Ryo, looked rather impressed.

The room was large, easily over the size of three professional basketball courts, and had a ceiling that reached at least thirty meters high. The entire area was grey and made of hard, solid concrete while there was a doorway at the very end of the room – which, according to Akaname, was probably some sort of backdoor – and an elevated wooden stage on the center left, upon which sat a long table and five chairs. (Again, according to Akaname, that was the judges' panel).

"You guys are finally here!" A cheerful voice accompanied the lanky figure walking in from the backdoor.

"Cellophane!" The students chorused as the smiling Pro Hero walked up to them, waving happily. Even though he was the homeroom teacher of the "rival" class 1-B, the students saw him fairly often since he often came to their class to meet Tsukuyomi. The man always had a wide-toothed grin on his face and a faint stubble that covered his narrow chin with shoulder-reaching hair pulled into a thin ponytail.

"Morning, everyone!" The man's jovial, friendly behaviour was a refreshing change from the quiet, reserved attitude of their own homeroom teacher. His eyes roved over everyone's P.E. uniforms, head nodded approvingly. "Looking good, looking good!" he winked and the young faces brightened with happiness, a chorus of "Thank you!" echoing through the gym. After all, getting complimented by a U.A. alumnus, who was one of the top Heroes in the country and an ex-student of Class 1-A no less, was something to gush over.

Tsukuyomi, Eraserhead (who ignored his son's flippant waving with a glare that screamed "FOCUS") and Present Mic were quick to follow after – Habiki, however, caught a worrying whiff pass through the mind of the loud blond. _**'Well, at least the girls are okay.'**_ The short boy couldn't help mulling over that one thought he read but shut his Quirk off as soon as it'd been activated.

He had made an oath to himself and he was gonna strive to keep it.

"Could Nori-chi actually be skipping today?~" Mashiro tapped his chin and wondered aloud, earning a perturbed look from Kenio.

"I'm beginning to get worried about Suzu-chan too," Hoshi worriedly mumbled, twiddling her thumbs together.

However, before anyone could talk further on the topic of the two missing girls, Present Mic walked up before the students and clearing his throat, announced, "All right, Class 1-A, it's finally time to rock and roll for the Quirk Apprehension Test slash Talent Show, y'all!" Haruka picked one of his ears while Fuma stared as impassively as ever, arms crossed over his broad chest. "But!" Present Mic wagged his index finger, a sly grin stretched over his face – both Reiko and Aisen leaned towards him curiously, wide eyes blinking. "Before we begin, it's time to introduce our special guest for today!"

The backdoor slowly opened once again.

Everyone's heads immediately snapped towards the figure that made her way across from the other end of the gym and for a moment, all voices were lost amidst slack jaws, eyes bulging out of sockets. There could be no doubt it was her – the long, spiky black ponytail, sensual red bodysuit, tall and curvaceous figure that could only belong to a Goddess – but to think that the top female Pro Hero was actually in front of them . . .

That she would be _watching_ them . . .

"Good morning, kids!" Her smile dazzled like the sun on a bright summer day – and some of the boys couldn't help the large blushes that exploded on their cheeks.

"CREATI!"

"I-I-I-It's really her!" Aisen's hands immediately flew to his face, clasped over his nose.

"Shoto-sama's wife!" Asuna's fingers intertwined as a dreamy smile occupied her face, uncharacteristic of her usually sardonic expressions.

". . . Woah . . .," Ryo furiously tried to stop his cheeks from heating up but when his eyes indirectly fell on her exposed . . . "assets", steam floated out of his ears and he almost collapsed, turning completely crimson. Hara, one of the few boys not overwhelmed by the beautiful woman, noticed his emerald-haired acquaintance and couldn't help from slyly smiling.

"I-Is this really Creati before us?!" Kenio screamed in a whisper as he tugged furiously at Akaname's sleeve, who was repeatedly fixing his glasses to confirm he wasn't seeing things.

Some of the students had immediately surrounded the black-haired adult, bestowing admiring gazes and outright fawning over her. "I'M A REALLY BIG FAN OF YOU!"

"You're so pretty~!"

"Is Shoto-sama here as well?!"

"Long time no see, Yaomomo-nee-chan!"

"Might I get an autograph, onyx-eyed Goddess?"

The Everything Hero was a professional at satiating excited crowds and immediately conjured a black marker and a number of autograph papers from her chest – an act which almost caused multiple blood-loss incidents among the males. Happy grins and exclamations of gratitude echoed throughout the crowd as she distributed signed autographs.

"The autograph of Shoto-sama's wife!" Asuna clutched the paper to her chest and hugged it desperately while oscillating from left-to-right.

Aisen, who had been staring at his autograph with sparkling eyes, sweat-dropped at the brunette. "Your priorities are as straight as a wet noodle, Nishiya."

Once the papers were over, Creati noticed that a few of the students still hadn't got any. "Don't worry, I'll create one for you too!" she smiled at the purple-skinned boy, placing a hand on her cleavage.

"Ah, instead of the paper," Jigoku pulled down his shirt lapel to expose his left collarbone, winking seductively, "Would you mind giving me an autograph here, Goddess?~"

Everyone stared in horrified shock and even Creati's jaw-dropped at the bold statement.

"TEJINA-SAN!" Akaname screamed while Asuna echoed "YOU PERVERT!" at the same time. However, he was able to effortlessly dodge the punch and the kick aimed at him and chuckled softly.

"Calm down, I was only kidding."

' _You sure weren't,'_ Habiki blankly stared at him.

* * *

 **Student: Suzuran Asagumo**

 **Quirk: Spider**

 **She can control the eight spider legs coming out of her body as naturally as her limbs, can create different types of threads from her fingertips and possesses two fangs in her mouth which secrete immobilizing venom.**

 **P.S: She's very skilled at sewing and likes giving people handmade gifts.**

* * *

"My nervousness just boarded a rocket and whizzed all the way to the moon."

The judges were seated on the wooden stage, talking in hushed voices with each other – Habiki noticed that Cellophane and Tsukuyomi were especially happy to be with Creati. _'If I remember correctly, they were classmates in high school.'_ The Class 1-A of 15 years ago, the most talented class ever in the history of U.A. – there was a reason why they and their peers were known as the 'Strongest Generation.' And most of those Heroes were now amongst the Top 50 of their country.

To be able to even reach the base of their level was a Herculean dream.

"Oh God, I hope I'm not the one who's called first!" Reiko rubbed her hands in a sort of prayer, her face twisted in a comedic expression. Everyone was nervous except a handful – Haruka sat quietly on a chair, judging everyone, Fuma's eyes were closed and he seemed to be in deep concentration while Kazumi lazily leaned against the wall, arms crossed against her developed chest.

"Ne, Enoshima-san.~" She swallowed the urge to crush the floating-hair girl who stopped next to her casually, completely undaunted and cheerful. "Are you nervous about the test?" Hoshi flashed Kazumi her signature air-headed smile.

' _Calm down, Kazumi, there are teachers here. No violence.'_

"Not really." She hoped the short, tart reply would indicate her total lack of interest in a conversation and chase the other girl away.

"Ah, I wish I could be as calm as you." However, she only seemed to grow even more relaxed, encouraged by the reply. Placing her hands on her chest, Hoshi said, "My heart is going _chiri-chiri-chiri_ even thinking about performing in front of our teachers and Creati-san." As she continued speaking, the lamia's thoughts shifted from her performance to tactics on how she could shoo the petite girl off.

"Alright, everyone!" Present Mic's voice echoed powerfully through the entire gym, loud enough to sting through the more sensitive ears. "We shall commence Class 1-A's Quirk Apprehension Test now! All of you have a maximum time limit of five minutes to showcase your Quirks the best you can and will be marked for it, which is going to add up to the marks for your mid-term exams!"

Fuma's eyes creaked open a little at the statement, glinting cerulean.

But suddenly, the grin that occupied the blond male's face turned dark and sadistic. "But there's one more thing to add."

Koji's smirk lost some of its cheer. "Woopsy daisy, we're fucked. With a bold **F.** "

"The bottom three scorers," a dark miasma surrounded the Voice Hero and all the students felt a chill pervade through their bodies, "will undergo a special punishment task."

The brightness in everyone's eyes was lost as their cheeks sunk into their bones.

"P-Punishment?!" bleak voices cried out.

Present Mic, totally unaffected by the looks of utter despair on everyone, flashed an encouraging thumbs-up to them. "Best of luck!"

Dark Shadow popped out of Tsukuyomi's back and cawed, "First up, Jobu Jonetsu!"

Shaking his long, wild hair around to get rid of his nervousness, the boy slapped his cheeks harshly and pumped his fists. "ALL RIGHT!" He yelled, causing Kagami to close her ears with a flinch. "I'M GONNA ROCK THIS!"

"Best of luck, Jobu-kun!" Kenio and some of the others cheered – the boy showcased a fist-bump, flashed his sharp teeth in a confident grin and walked up in front of the judges' panel.

"Good morning!" He energetically greeted. "I don't like wasting time so I'm just gonna get down to it!" Beaming smugly, the boy flexed his entire body and within a couple of seconds, his tan skin had been covered by a layer of light grey metal, gleaming with steely brilliance. As the judges looked on with interested gazes, Jobu bent forward and tightening his muscles, let out a power-up yell. "ORYAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The veins on his arms and neck straining against his skin, everyone watched as his metal body gradually flushed into a scorching red, steam rising off his body.

"I thought his Quirk was similar to Tetsutetsu-san," Creati stared at the boy with a serious look on her face, "but to be able to increase the temperature of his metallic body gives him an added advantage."

"It certainly does," Tsukuyomi nodded, agreeing. "But how long and high can this body heat increase?" he questioned sharply.

"-Graaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Now tinted almost fully scarlet, Jobu felt the heat of his body overwhelm his senses as his throat grew increasingly dry and his head began swimming with blurred delusions. Feeling his body approach the danger limit, he relaxed his muscles and soon, the steel had reverted back to expose his normal skin. "Phew! That was exhausting!" He exclaimed before waving at Creati once again and walking back towards the student chairs.

' _Jobu Jonetsu.'_ Tsukuyomi marked the boy on the academic sheet. _'A powerful Quirk with amazing raw power and a useful extra ability. Plus, the boy has fighting skills as he showcased during the Entrance Exam.'_

' _However,'_ Momo too had received a mark sheet. _'He doesn't seem to be very creative when it comes to using his Quirk.'_

"Next!" Dark Shadow had taken Present Mic's place as the commentator. "Itou Haruka!"

The ultramarine-haired boy got up with flaccid confidence, strolling to the front of the gym with his hands shoved in the pockets of his P.E. pants. Creati noticed that halfway down his elbows to the tips of his fingers, his hands were made out of pure metal – and with his pants folded to right below his knees, she could see it was the same for his feet. "Are those metal limbs augmented?" she whispered to Tsukuyomi.

"They're actually genuine," the Jet Black Hero replied, earning a rather surprised look from his ex-classmate. She had seen many people with unique mutations but the young man's interested her.

"I'll begin." He simply stated, giving a short bow.

"So he can speak!" Koji chuckled, leaning comfortably against his chair.

Haruka turned to his left instead of facing the judges and adopting a running position, took off, sprinting at high speed. "Where's he going?" Creati asked but her question was soon answered when the tall boy soon propelled himself off the cemented ground, orange beams emerging from his palms and the soles of his feet. Most of the students couldn't help uttering awed gasps as they watched their silent classmate surge through the air with raw speed and power, crossing over the entirety of the huge Gym Gamma within seconds.

"What speed!" Aisen's eyes almost rolled out trying to follow the boy.

Creati was the first to realise he was headed straight for the wall. "Stop him!" she yelled, slamming her hands on the table but they were too far away to do anything . . . and before the others could fully comprehend what she meant, Haruka had crashed against the wall with a booming thud.

"Itou-san!"

"Oh my God!"

"Seriously?! This kid's gonna actually kill himself!"

As the muscles in his body threatened to wildly protest against any movement, the neon-eyed boy slowly opened his swimming vision, only seeing outlines of blurred figures running towards him. "Well, at least I can move all my limbs this time," he muttered, lying upside down on his back, legs propped against the wall and bent over his upper body.

After making sure the boy was still alive and in one piece, the harrowed teachers immediately returned to their panel after sending him off to Recovery Man, followed by the equally harrowed but impressed students. _'He could surpass even Ingenium in terms of speed and built-up power . . .,'_ Tsukuyomi marked against the boy's name on his sheet.

' _. . . But he doesn't seem to have much control over his Quirk, making it destructive for his body.'_ Momo suppressed a sigh. Soon enough, the next student was up.

"Good morning everyone! I'm Nakamura Kenio and for the talent show, I'd like to perform a little skit I created!" For some reason, Momo found herself becoming endeared to this boy – maybe it was his bright eyes, the optimistic smile on his face or the overall positivity he exuded. And when he began moving his fingers to create a myriad of colourful shapes that came to life, she found herself becoming increasingly engrossed in his performance.

"Once upon a time, long, long ago," little figures decked in ancient Hero costumes of blue, green, red, black and various other colours came to life, "There were two powerful Hero organisations on Earth, known as the Starks and the Rogers." Along with the teachers, even the students watched his show with highly interested gazes. "Both organisations were led by kind, charismatic leaders but due to their highly clashing ideals, it was impossible for them to stay on peaceful terms with each other and there were plenty of skirmishes, both big and small, between these leaders and their subordinates." The small, chibi figures were fighting against each other, one side being led by a man in a red armour suit and the other by a blond in a white-and-blue US-themed suit.

"However, an intergalactic entity by the name of Thanos crashed into their lives with his despotic army of aliens and ravaged over half of Earth." Working quickly, the ginger drew a small, cartoonish looking purple-skinned bruiser with half-a-dozen black-suited figures trailing after him in chibi UFOs. "When some of their friends got killed," everyone gasped as Thanos and his underlings killed almost half the Heroes from each organisation, "the Starks and the Rogers leaders decided to join hands to terminate this huge threat to their planet." The red-suited man and the blue-suited male both shook hands with their remaining subordinates looking on with smiles.

"And so, the great battle began."

Kenio had been continuously working along with his narration and had managed to create the scenario of an impressive battlefield, laid on a framework of a destroyed city with the remaining Starks-Rogers facing off against Thanos and his army. The small chibis struggled in their fight – although the battle seemed cartoonish and almost funny to the usual observer, it was apparent how much effort the ginger was putting into its creation and coordination. "During the epic battle, the Humanity team managed to greatly damage and kill all of Thanos' powerful lieutenants but in return, they also lost many of their good soldiers." The red-haired woman, the blond guy in medieval armour, the green monster and all the others were killed in the battle.

Some of the louder students (mostly Aisen, Reiko, Jobu and Koji) provided more than enough verbal reactions as the audience and the two blondes even cried as the Rogers leader held the dead body of his redhead lover. With sweat droplets running down his forehead, Kenio continued, "Until, at the end, the Stark leader Iron Man and the Rogers leader, Captain America, were the only ones left to combat against Thanos himself." And then, to make matters worse against the two Heroes, the despot morphed into a gigantic sized monster and brutally laughed in the faces of the tiny humans.

"I'm beginning to fall more and more for Thanos-kun!" Koji giggled, earning a vicious elbow to his ribs from Asuna.

"In a battle that was to seal the destiny of Earth and humanity, the last of our Heroes made one final bid to defeat this powerful Villain. Despite being beaten to the brink of death . . .," Aisen and Reiko clasped each other's hands and stared at the two battered chibi Heroes with horrified expressions – Thanos loomed over them like the harbinger of death and destruction, smirking cruelly upon their wounded figures.

Even Creati couldn't help squeezing at Tsukuyomi's cloak. "Are they going to die?" she whispered softly, completely engrossed in Kenio's performance.

". . . Iron Man was able to trick Thanos one last time and attaching himself to the despot, self-destructed his own body, severely injuring the Villain in the process."

Gasps arose from the crowd as the red chibi jumped onto the purple alien and a golden blast took place, vanquishing the Hero but bringing Thanos back to his original size and leaving him in a near-death condition. Captain America let out an enraged and sorrowful cry as he jumped up in the air and brought down his shield hard on the Villain, destroying him completely.

"Squishy-squishy pieces!" Mashiro stood up cheering from his seat with a lopsided smile – Habiki had to gently pull down on his hand to make him sit.

As a badly drawn sun finally rose over the ruined city and the bodies of all his fallen comrades, Captain America stood on an elevated piece of rubble and wiping away his tears, looked towards the new dawn. "Although Earth had been saved from the biggest threat it'd ever encountered, it came at the cost of the lives of many Heroes, who selflessly sacrificed their own lives for the rest of humanity. Captain America sunk to his knees as the full realisation of how stupid the clash between the Rogers and the Starks had been hit him – if only they'd together fought against the great evil from the beginning, so many more lives could've been saved and maybe, no one would've had to die."

The scene was painful to watch – Kenio took a pause from his narration, letting the intensity of his creations hit everyone.

"HEY, IT CAN'T JUST END THERE!" Jobu got up from his chair screaming, his eyes tearing up. Pulling in a snivel, he cried, "Where's the poetic justice?!"

"Jobu, you know what that means?!" Koji gasped.

"We want justice! We want justice!" Aisen and Reiko chanted together while Mashiro was screaming, "Mutilate Thanos' body!"

Kenio exasperatedly yelled, "I didn't say it was over, did I?!" That seemed to both pacify and surprise the students and everyone settled down again.

Clearing his throat, the ginger continued, "However, from Thanos' body, a colourful gem, dyed in the shades of a rainbow, appeared and floated over to the distraught Hero. As he held it in his palms and stared down at it, a single teardrop fell on the stone as he thought about the deaths of all his allies. And, in that moment . . ."

Yells of cheer and expressions of positive delight erupted from everyone – with Kenio's rapidly moving fingers, small sparks of soft yellow light floated over to the dead bodies of the fallen Heroes. And, as they mingled with the corpses, the chibis began stirring back to life. "Captain America couldn't believe what he was seeing – Iron Man, who should've been torn to smithereens in the blast, was lying on top of some rubble and staring about him with a dazed look. Even his beloved lover, Black Widow, who'd had been stabbed through the stomach, had her wounds closed and was stirring awake."

Creati suppressed a sniffle.

As chibi America helped all his allies get back on their feet, the sun climbed higher in the sky and morning finally appeared over the landscape, a blue sky showcasing signs of a possibly peaceful and happy future. "The world may have been majorly wrecked but now that the Heroes had been resurrected with the mysterious gem, the Starks and the Rogers finally joined hands and swore permanent fealty to each other. They decided they would continue to watch over the new future together and protect their beloved Earth from any other evil that threatens it."

"The End."

Kenio snapped his fingers and immediately, all the colourful figures dissipated into splatters of paint on the ground. With the sweetest smile, he bowed once in front of his classmates and then turning to face the judges on the panel, gave a deeper bow.

Almost everyone present in the room broke into applause – amongst the students, there were exclamatory cheers and impressed yells while Present Mic, Cellophane and even Creati had incredibly satisfied smiles on their faces and were clapping. The freckled teen's face broke into a huge grin and with lightly blushing cheeks, he bowed once more before returning to his seat amidst heavy compliments and hearty pats from his classmates.

' _Skill, variety, creativity, stamina and impeccable control.'_ Tsukuyomi silently watched Kenio – who was buried under Aisen, Mashiro, Koji and Reiko – with an unreadable gaze. _'This pupil certainly has one of the most brilliant Quirks this year. He has almost no blatant blind spot . . . with enough training, he could even be on a level to rival_ _ **them**_ _. . .'_

Creati, although mostly composed on the outside, was gushing heavily on the inside. _'This was so much more than I'd expected! Such an excellent Quirk – I wonder what level of creations he can make? With some finesse added to his drawings and practice, I'm sure he'll become a very talented Hero!'_ Her fists clenched under the table. _'I can't wait for the sports festival . . .!'_

' _With a performance like that, it'll be extremely hard to follow it up.'_ She threw a glance at the other students – even though everyone looked really excited from the 'skit' they'd seen, the aura of competitiveness in the room had stirred up by many notches.

' _I can't believe such a kid's cartoon impressed everyone!'_ Asuna glared at the ginger, her magenta eyes shining brightly. _'Looks like it's time to show them all what_ _ **real**_ _talent is!'_

Kazumi ran a forked tongue over her lips, staring at Kenio. _'What a delicious little cutie . . . It's going to be fun crushing that optimistic aura and watching his bright eyes fill with powerlessness.'_

Fuma, sitting at a distance from the others, briefly glanced at him through lidded eyes. _'Nakamura Kenio huh . . . should've expected this from an acquaintance of Inori's . . .'_

Reiko, although one of the most impressed amongst the crowd, could not quench the spirited fire burning in her. _'Alright, Nakamura! Now that you've upped the notch, looks like I have no choice but to go all out!'_

Jigoku, with his chair tipped back, opened a crimson eye and smirked. _'You were really good, mate,'_ he thought, looking at the freckled boy, _'but unfortunately for you, I'm even better.'_

* * *

ED 1 – **No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **(Due to the request of many readers, I've decided to create a forum listing the appearances of the MHAGZ OCs which will also double as a trivia site. The forum will be up in the next 2-3 days so please do check it through my profile if you wish to.**

 **Thank you to all the lovely people who reviewed! I will not give up on this story and try to see it to the end – despite its large length – so I hope you'll be able to stay with me to the end of this journey!)**


	8. Ch 7 - Glitz and Glamour

**OP 1 – Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – Glitz and Glamour**

(Thursday, 21st April, 10:51 a.m. – U.A.)

"Kita Kagami."

Once the happy uproar over Kenio's performance finally settled a little, the fourth name was called out. The turquoise-haired girl stood up stiffly, her heart thumping nervously as she cursed her luck for being the one to immediately perform after the show-turner. Swallowing her fears and pushed by rather loud encouragements from Reiko and Jobu, she began to walk towards the center of the room.

Being under the unreadable gazes of the five Pros was so nerve-wracking her legs were shaking. She clenched her palms tightly enough to leave crescent marks on her fair skin from the pressure of her nails. Swallowing thickly, she braced herself as best as she could and turned to the judges. "G-Good morning," she hated how brittle her voice sounded and the fact that she couldn't look any of the revered Heroes in the face. "I'm Kagami Kita and I . . . I'd like a volunteer to come up here for my Quirk performance."

' _A . . . volunteer?'_ The words caught Creati's interest.

' _Kita Kagami.'_ Tsukuyomi crossed his arms over his chest, carefully observing the girl's nervous reactions. _'According to her files, she has been a victim of the crime duo Lazarus. She is one of the quietest students but if used properly, her Quirk can prove to be one of the most useful.'_

"I'll volunteer!" Unsurprisingly, Jobu was the first to offer and jogged up to her, his usual wide grin plastered on his face. Somewhat reassured by his carefree smile, Kagami raked in another deep breath to stabilise herself. The gazes of both the teachers and her classmates were overwhelming.

"M-My Quirk's called Enigma," she tried to smile but it came out a little forced. Gripping her right arm, the girl strained out, "It . . . it allows me to code and bind objects and people with a powerful lock." _'I'm so nervous . . . dammit . . .'_ "Ready?" she turned to Jobu, her voice squeaking at the end.

"I was born ready, ya know?!" he slapped his thighs, sharp teeth exposed. "Let's do it, Kita!"

"Do 'what', exactly?" Koji snickered from the group but thankfully, Habiki was nearby to clamp a mouth over his hand before anyone else could hear him.

Kagami nodded at the grey-haired boy and taking another deep breath, mentally punched herself to get a grip. Dark eyes filled with determination to not rank in the bottom and her hands were flying towards Jobu, fingers moving with speed and precision.

' _Create. Code. Connect.'_ The mantra resonated in her head every time she used Enigma.

"W-Woah!" Before he realised it, Jobu's arms were bound tightly together and pressed against his sides with a metallic chain held together by a small, coded lock. With a second touch of Kagami's fingers, his feet were joined as well with a similar chain and lock and, unable to keep his balance, he fell to the ground.

Several eyebrows were raised and eyes filled with questioning gazes at the sudden appearance of the chains and locks. Slightly encouraged by the interested looks she was receiving, Kagami stared down at the writhing boy and explained a bit more confidently, "The chains and locks generated by Enigma are practically unbreakable and can only be unlocked by me."

"G-Guh!" Jobu's struggling was proving her words true. Even though he had changed into his steel form and overheated his body to the point of rising steam, the chains did not have the slightest creak escape them. "I-I'll break through this, somehow . . .!" he yelled as he flexed and twisted his muscles but the chains stubbornly stayed bound, completely undamaged.

"There are two ways to unlock them." Bending down to the sweating boy's position, Kagami gave a light tap to the chains around his feet and they soon crumbled into nothing. "The first way is for me to dismantle them through disintegration. And the second . . .," On the code of the lock, she tapped a four digit number and with a resounding 'click', the lock opened and the chains fell apart, finally releasing an exhausted Jobu who lay spread-eagle on the floor. ". . . is to figure out the exact code for the lock – which is almost impossible since it is chronologically generated in a specific order every time I use my Quirk."

' _What a perfect capture weapon!'_ Creati thought as she marked down on the girl's report sheet. _'Not only can she bind people with it but also objects . . . if she can successfully come into contact with a dangerous Villain, capturing them would be a lot more easier!'_

' _But it is a Quirk that is heavily dependent on support.'_ Tsukuyomi watched as the girl bowed and returned to her seat along with Jobu, who was blabbering about how powerful the chains were. _'In single combat or long distance fights, it would be incredibly difficult for her to get close to her enemy to be able to use it. But still . . . it would be incredibly useful for capture or detain missions.'_

"Shimizu Akaname!"

"Good luck, Aka-chi!~" Mashiro cheered, slapping the guy a little too hard on the back as he almost stumbled. Suppressing a sigh, the pink-haired boy strode confidently in front of the judges panel, exuding poise and grace.

"Good morning, respected teachers and Pro Heroes." His back was ramrod straight and his bow angularly perfect. "I am Shimizu Akaname and I shall be showcasing my Quirk, Incense, in today's talent show slash Quirk Apprehension Test."

' _So much like a certain someone . . .,'_ All five judges simultaneously had an image of the same Engine Hero flash in their minds.

"I shall now begin." And as soon as he'd uttered those words, a soft, pink glow enveloped his body – before the hazy radiance burst into overarching flames that completely lapped the bespectacled guy.

"Waaaaaah, what a pretty smell.~" Hoshi cooed, closing her eyes and enjoying the aroma of strawberries the Quirk emanated.

"My Quirk, Incense, allows me to evaporate any sort of liquid and disintegrate any non-living object its flames come into contact with." A spare stool in the corner of the room caught on pink fire with a snap of his fingers and in front of everyone's eyes, within a span of twenty seconds, it'd deteriorated into nothingness. Not a single grain of ash left behind. "It also allows me to deplete the bodily energy of a living person or animal but . . . umm . . .," he seemed to go into deep thought, his brows creasing in a dilemma. ". . . I'm not sure if I can try this on someone though . . ."

"Why don't you try it on Present Mic?" Akaname looked up with a start at Eraserhead who stared back at him with completely serious eyes. With arms crossed against his chest, the Hero continued, "He's the most energetic . . . 'person' I know. If you're able to deplete _his_ energy, it would be really something."

 _Good marks,_ Akaname's mind screamed. _A chance to be able to impress the judges as well as Nakamura Kenio._

But before the student could even look at the sunglass-donning blond for affirmation, the man had already stood up on his feet and exclaimed, "That sounds pretty interesting!" Levelling the boy in front of him with a challenging look, Mic squawked, "So, what say, Shimizu-kun? Can you do it?"

It took him only a few seconds to response. "I would be honoured, Present Mic-sensei," he gave a firm nod. The blond snorted at his confidence and quirked an eyebrow.

' _Time to prove I can fight on the frontlines as well!'_ Black eyes glowed a luminous cerise as Akaname held out his hand in the direction of Mic and with the tightening of his fingers, pink flames had gathered around the Pro, engulfing his upper body. Some of the students got up from their seats to have a better view, eager to know the results of this indirect battle between their most diligent classmate and the popular Pro Hero.

"Is this it?" Present Mic smirked, hands placed on his hips as his body shook with laughter. "You can do better than this, kiddo! I could run a marathon right now!"

"You seem to resemble Present Mic more than your father, Aizawa-kun," Habiki noted, speaking to the restless boy who sat near him.

"Well, my mom actually had an affair with Uncle Mic before I was born so I guess you're probably right." At the completely serious sentence, the green-haired boy had earned the shocked stares and open jaws of all his surrounding classmates. Unable to keep his deadpan at their expressions, he chortled, "Did you guys actually believe that?"

THWACK!

"Much appreciated, Nishiya-san," Habiki thanked once Koji was knocked out on his chair with a huge bump on his head. Asuna muttered a "Don't mention it", dusting her hands.

On the judges panel, Present Mic was finally feeling his lids droop despite his previous boasts. _'Eh . . . is this for real?'_ He stared at his palms – the heat from the flames wasn't in any way smouldering but a very warm and lethargic aura was beginning to overwhelm him, enveloping his body with the lulling temptation of sleep. But before he could actually collapse and doze off, Eraserhead discreetly shot out an arm to hit him on his lower back and drawled loudly, "Alright, Shimizu, your five minutes are over. You've shown us more than enough – you can go back to your seat now."

Although he didn't look very satisfied at being interrupted, the black-eyed boy nonetheless respectfully bowed and returned to where his classmates sat. Mic gave a grateful look to his long-time friend, who returned it with an indiscreet nod. However, the younger three teachers seemed to be rather impressed with the skill and precision by which the boy used his Quirk, which was apparent from the marks they gave him.

Dark Shadow cawed in the now relatively silent gym. "Shimamura Reiko!"

"THAT'S ME!" The girl shot up from her seat with a raised hand, accidentally hitting Aisen with her elbow. However, she didn't notice his pained yelp as she excitedly bounded to the centre of the gym, skidding to a stop right in front of the panel. "Name's Shimamura Reiko and my Quirk is Ankle Wheels!" Supplementing her words were two wheels that jutted out of her ankles, tearing through her white socks and lifting the blonde several inches off the ground with two skin-coloured axles, as naturally indented as if they were a part of her body.

Creati's eyes slightly narrowed. _'This Quirk . . . why do I believe I've seen it before . . .?'_

"And today, I'll be performing a skating show!" She showcased a victory sign to her audience and some of her classmates cheered and clapped. "Ready, everyone?" Her orange eyes took on a competitive look and spiky eyelashes framed her cute face with a free-spirited look. As she took on a running position, the girl screamed mentally, _'The time is now, Reiko! The time to show everyone that you're a real Hero!'_

 _( "Because, deep inside, no matter what you Quirk is or if you don't even have a Quirk, it is your heart that decides whether you're a Hero or not." )_ Deku's words from their orientation speech echoed in her mind.

And the girl took off.

She moved through the auditorium with such speed and dexterity that for a moment, everyone was left unable to speak, only able to look at her with awed gazes. Her tall, slender form twirled on the cemented ground with great agility, manoeuvring through complicated twists and slides – and despite wearing track pants, the pirouette she performed in the middle of the gym was a perfect sight. She would dash from one place to the other within seconds, her control on her Ankle Wheels perfect but when she dashed towards a wall, some of her classmates could not help but look on in worry.

"I hope she can successfully pull it off . . .," Kagami's hands were joined together as she looked on anxiously. Although Reiko had practiced hard the past two days, this had been the most difficult part of her routine. _'Please don't get hurt, Shimamura-san.'_

' _This is it . . . THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!'_ Reiko was tempted to close her eyes as she neared the foreboding cement wall but a collage of bundled images flashed through her mind and through them, she could almost see her parents' smiling, proud faces in front of her. _'You can do it, Reiko!'_ She bent her knees, the wall right in front of her as she sped towards it-

' _YOU CAN BE A HERO TOO!'_

Almost no one could hold in their gasps and Creati, who was almost convinced that the girl would crash into the wall, was pleasantly surprised when she successfully rode up the wall. Reiko felt a stinging current go up her legs but she pushed on, keeping her knees bent at the perfect angle she'd practiced so much to get, and made a successful vertical manoeuvre on the fortification. Her wheels creaked against the friction but, gritting her teeth, she forced them to bear out the abrupt change in terrain and rode out the movement by performing a dexterous cartwheel in mid-air.

As she landed on the ground again, a gigantic grin had split her face into two. _'I-I did it!'_ She stared at her clenched fists, trying to hold back the approaching happy tears. _'I . . . I performed a complete routine!'_

So many hours of scratched knees, grazed shins and burning ankles had finally paid off.

When she was back, most of her classmates had broken into applause and some of them were even standing. "YOU WERE WHEELY AMAZING, SHIMAMURA!" Aisen cupped his mouth to shout as she was standing at somewhat a distance. From between the loud others, Kagami smiled softly at the blonde as she clapped, happy for her friend. Reiko grinned at them and made a victory sign with her fingers, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

"That kid . . .," Momo looked away from the girl to the speaking Tsukuyomi. ". . . she is one of the most driven students in my class despite everything that's happened to her."

"I didn't realise at first but I remember now." Creati replied, smiling as Reiko was patted and praised by all her friends. "Her parents . . . the name Shimamura did sound familiar."

The Jet Black Hero only nodded at that.

The seventh student, Hitori Kasai, was soon called up front. The black-haired woman had to quickly compose herself as she immediately recognised the blue-haired boy. _'I'm kind of jealous of Tokoyami-kun.'_ But she couldn't suppress the small smirk that bloomed on her face. _'He has so many interesting students.'_

"I am Hitori Kasai," he respectfully bowed – when he raised his head, Momo confirmed his identity . . . those quietly smouldering, blush-coloured eyes were hard to forget. "And my Quirk, Death Breath, it . . . it allows me to exhale a toxic and flammable gas."

There were audible gulps amidst the students as many of them understood the reason behind his constant respirator. _'So that's why he was so dodgy about the subject . . .,'_ Aisen thought, feeling slightly guilty for having pressed on the guy so much. Akaname's eyes narrowed at Kasai's sentence and his tightened fists did not escape Mashiro's notice.

Amongst the teachers, Eraserhead was on high alert – since the day of the Entrance Exams, all the teachers had received some special instructions regarding the safeguard of some students with particularly dangerous Quirks. And Hitori Kasai was one of the named individuals, one of the six from Class 1-A. _'Tokoyami really has his hands full . . .'_

Sucking in two consecutive deep breaths, Kasai tried to calm his shaking fingers – he'd fully discussed things with Kenio and the others and besides, if anything happened, Eraserhead was sitting right there and would erase his Quirk before anything happened. _'It's fine . . . it's fine . . . I'm just overthinking . . . Nothing like that's gonna happen again . . .'_

 _( "IF YOU'RE GONNA BE A GODDAMN HERO THEN START FUCKING ACTING LIKE ONE!" )_

A pale hand floated up to his respirator and slowly opened the small, barred pane over his mouth. As it hinged open, Kasai brought out a blue lighter from his pocket and taking in a deep breath-

-Exhaled the coral gas at a straight angle, flicking the tiny flame over it.

The column of fire that rose from that little train was enormous as it rose over the entirety of the gym, vicious flames lapping dangerously towards the ceiling. They were a swirling pillar of raw magnificence and power, a broad column of heat that raged with imminent power of destruction, threatening to burn everything in its way to unrecognisable cinders. Even though both groups were at a reasonable distance from the fiery storm, they could feel the overpowering heat stem towards their bodies.

One touch and they would be scarred for life. Death Breath was an aptly crowning name.

Eraserhead's body tensed while Momo stared at the golden and scarlet flames with mixed awe and worry – the last time she'd talked to her friend regarding the boy, she'd been assured he was in good hands. No matter how hard that was to believe.

Akaname's eyes were hate-filled as they glared at the towering blaze. _'What a despicable, villainous Quirk.'_ He couldn't control the bitter thoughts that filled his mind.

It wasn't until the flames had died down that most of the people in the gym let themselves relax. Kasai closed the pane of his respirator as soon as the last flickers had died and bowing, thanked the judges for having him before returning to his seat. "You did well, Hitori-san!" Kenio cheered, orange eyes shining. "Your flames reminded me of Shoto's!"

"I'm sure Creati was especially impressed since they were a lot like her husband's," Habiki commented, smiling warmly at the boy.

". . . Thanks, everyone," Kasai seemed to have a faint smile under his respirator. However, when he accidentally caught the gaze of Akaname who was sitting a few chairs away, he felt a sting when the masked boy immediately tore his gaze away.

However, both boys' attentions were diverted when another name was called out. "Aizawa Koji!"

Eraserhead, along with half of the student populace, looked like he wanted to face-palm as the green-haired boy stood up with the world's most ominous smile inhabiting his face. His gait was cheerful and mischievous as he walked to the centre of the room with a light skip in his step, the judges watching him with a mixture of apprehension and anticipation.

The son of two of the most capable heroes of the previous generation – Eraserhead and Ms. Joke. Just what could the assimilation of their genes have created? Momo was feeling especially excited since the last time she'd met Koji, he had been a flippant brat beginning middle school, unsure of what direction he would take. And when she came to know that he had succeeded in enrolling into the Hero Course in U.A., she and all of Aizawa's previous 1-A batch had been ecstatic.

"Mornin', Tsukuyomi-sensei, Cellophane-sensei, Dad, Uncle Mic and Momo-nee-chan!" He cheerfully waved at all of them, no trace of nervousness visible on his features. Placing a hand on a cocked hip, he grinned, "All of you have seen spectacular performances till now but mine is going to make you go bananas and leave you in splits – so get ready for a good dose of banana split!"

It wasn't the terrible joke but the perfectly constructed wink on Koji's face that made Cellophane and Mic guffaw, Aisen chortle and Mashiro crack a smile. However, most of the audience was staring at him with a platter of dumbfounded, repugnant and deadpan expressions but Koji remained unfazed – they were talented high school kids and a cluster of talented Pro Heroes, not a group of rowdy middle school boys that would even laugh at a rock.

' _Ooh la la, time to make everyone go sha la la la.'_

He smirked.

The pleasure of the challenge was all his now.

. . . . . . . . (3 minutes later)

Creati never thought that Aizawa Koji, the son of her sullen high school mentor, would keep his word to make her go bananas and leave her in splits.

The room was filled with peals of exhausted laughter, hiccupping chortles and sounds of dying breath from students whose stomachs were beginning to ache numb from the pain. Some lay on the floor, clutching their bellies as violent laughter shook their whole body while others were barely hanging on to their chairs, trying their hardest to keep themselves from falling apart. Even amongst the teachers, Eraserhead was the only one with any semblance of control as, despite his quivering shoulders, he had a hand clamped tightly over his mouth and was holding in his chuckles. But the other four Pros were laughing like there was no tomorrow and Creati, despite realising how unladylike she sounded, was unable to get over the punch-line of Koji's last joke.

Pleased with himself and not wanting to murder anyone with oxygen deprivation, Koji performed a short tap dance, bowed and skipped back to his seat.

Fuma, the only soul in the room to remain unaffected, removed his ear plugs. _'Koji . . . He's a natural enemy. If not for my timely preparation, I would have definitely failed today.'_

 _( "I will be the one to make you smile, Fu-chan!" )_

' _. . . I can definitely never let my guard down anymore.'_

It took another three minutes for everyone in the room to compose themselves and marks to be allotted to the eighth student before the next name was called. "Kenshi Ryo!"

Ryo aggressively kicked back his chair and landed on his feet with a harsh thump, tramping towards the judges panel with his hands buried in the pockets of his baggy trousers and an ugly scowl etched deep on his face. "You already know my name so I don't see any freaking use in stating it again," he almost spat – Creati's eyes immediately narrowed. _'Another token of familiarity, I see.'_ The emerald-haired boy was almost the spitting image of the teenage self of a close acquaintance.

"And you all already know what my Quirk, Crystallization, does so it's just better we get right down to it." And with that absolute declaration, Ryo adopted a combative posture and begun.

Tokoyami watched the (arguably) rowdiest student of his class with an unmoving gaze. _'Kenshi Ryo and his Quirk, Crystallization.'_ As he contracted his biceps, long and thick shards of crystal, coloured in shades of his hair, erupted out of his skin. Straightening his arms on each side and flicking his wrists, he shot out shards that zipped through the air. They flew at a straight angle with blurred speed before crashing to the ground and embedding into the cement. Many looked impressed as Ryo continued using his arms like a machine gun, adopting a wide trajectory around him as he shot the crystal bullets through the room, some travelling far enough to become lodged in the wall.

' _A versatile, powerful and constructive Quirk with no clear weaknesses.'_

Smirking confidently, he retracted the remaining crystals back into his body before opening his palms – a mantle of crystals swathed out of them and as he made his palms face down, they enveloped the whole area around him in no time. Most watched with wide eyes as a towering and thick wall of glistening gemstones erected around the boy, spiralling towards the high ceiling with excellent speed. One didn't need to attack the crystal to know it was highly impregnable – only a few students of Class 1-A could possibly break down that hard rock within time.

' _And the student himself is ably combat-trained and has good control over his Quirk.'_

Suddenly, a clout could be heard from inside the crystalline fortress and the sudden cracks that appeared on it broke away to reveal an emerging Ryo. A thick, curved blade – made from the same crystal – jutted out of his forearm. Chiselled and sturdy, it seemed as good as a professionally made weapon, further proving the versatility of the Quirk.

With most eyes trained on the impressive crystal structure that stood in the middle of the room, Ryo grinned arrogantly at all the awed faces, exhaling a snort. _'Top that, suckers!'_ He watched the expressions of the teachers – their faces were guarded but even they had to acknowledge how good he was for a high school student, right?

Tsukuyomi wrote his final comment against the name of his student. _'Kenshi Ryo – Amazing talent and a powerful Quirk. But an equally horrible personality.'_

' _(And his past juvenile records seem to prove that)',_ was the added afterword.

* * *

 **Student: Jonetsu Jobu**

 **Quirk: Steel Forge**

 **Jobu has two parts to his Quirk – the first allows him to turn his skin to metal and the second allows him to increase the temperature of his metallic skin through heated blood flow.**

 **P.S: Jobu is often mistaken as a relative of Pro Hero Real Steel because of his Quirk and often has a hard time explaining to people that's not the case. However, he becomes rather proud when people make the mistake.**

* * *

(Thursday, 21st April, 10:49 a.m. – U.A)

When Haruka entered the infirmary, Inori couldn't say whether she was surprised or not – the boy had always been the quiet one, barely speaking in class and she couldn't remember if she'd ever heard his voice, now that she thought back on it. (However, she sensed she was being a hypocrite – she had been much worse before Erika and the others came along). As the boy limped inside the room, his face completely devoid of any pain he might be feeling, Recovery Man was quick to notice and hurried out of his armchair, leaving his computer open.

The redhead suppressed a sigh as he walked towards the slightly shorter boy and offered a supportive arm. "I now realise grandma wasn't kidding when she talked about the curse of Class 1-A," he softly mumbled, helping Haruka to one of the closest beds. Once the neon-eyed boy had comfortably seated himself, Recovery Man let his hands rove over the well-built body, stopping and compressing certain joints and hawking at any change in Haruka's expression. Standing up satisfied, he announced, "Well, it definitely isn't as bad as it was during the entrance test. You don't know how lucky you are to be born with metal limbs, Itou-san . . . without their damage absorption capacity, you wouldn't be able to walk around immediately after the injuries you suffer."

Inori watched as the boy replied with a silent nod – their gazes briefly met, cold steel clashing into icy azure. However, he was forced to pull his away when Recovery Man started speaking again. "You'll be completely fine within the next hour so don't worry." The black-haired girl, finding sleep lulling to her again, was about to turn her back and doze off into another nap but what happened next made her freeze and ogle with wide eyes.

"Just relax your body and rest for some time here, okay?" Recovery Man had his arms wrapped around Haruka and was softly whispering in his ear. The teen had his head buried in the chest of the redhead and as Inori watched this scene, so reminiscent of some of the anime Suzune watched, she noted a soft, amber glow envelop the dark-haired boy.

Recovery Man pulled away after a few seconds, a gentle smile inhabiting his face as he ruffled the teen's hair. "Try to take care of yourself more, Itou-san. Life is too short and shocking to treat one's body so recklessly." With those parting words, the U.A. nurse walked back to his table, fetched an arm full of coloured files and walked out of the infirmary, softly shutting the door behind him.

After his departure, a frigid silence settled inside the white room.

Inori pulled the covers over her and was about to settle into another nap before an unfamiliar voice called out to her. "Are you not going to perform?"

When she turned to look up at the bed that lay across hers, Haruka was staring at her with that unnerving neon blue gaze. She suppressed the urge to sigh – why did it matter so much to people whether she was performing or not? _'When will they stop having expectations from me?'_ But she decided to answer anyway. "No."

She watched his face for a reaction but his gaze had darted to some spot on the ceiling way above her head. However, before she could try to lie down for the second time, he spoke again. "You should give the test."

In a show of defiance, Inori dropped down and pulled the white covers over her head, wild, black curls pooling under her. As time ticked by and the silence continued, she felt the need to ask, "Why do you say that?"

Haruka's eyes flitted to her lounged figure for a few seconds as he tested the words on his tongue. "Giving up without trying . . . it doesn't seem to be you."

Closed eyes snapped open. "You don't know me," she muttered.

"I don't." The honest reply was quick and impassive. "But I've seen Team Tenshi and I've seen their Berserker, Tetsuya Inori." And with the slightest turn of her head, the ebony-haired girl shifted her gaze to him. For the second time, their eyes clashed.

Why was there such a knowing look in those unfamiliar blue?

"The Hakushou Warehouse incident affected all of you." She clenched her fists, grabbing fistfuls of crumpled bed sheets – did the boy realise what he was saying? "No one will tell you out loud but after that day . . . Team Tenshi had slowly begun deteriorating."

' _Shut up.'_

Such merciless eyes. "And after Seijuro Nagi's disappearance-"

' _SHUT UP.'_

Why was he looking at her so cruelly? "-Team Tenshi was dead."

' _ **SHUT. UP.'**_

* * *

(Thursday, 21st April, 11:19 a.m. – U.A.)

' _. . . I can do this. I_ _ **have**_ _to do this.'_

Suzuran took in a big gulp of air and wrote the kanji for _**'Manly'**_ on a small palm before swallowing it down her throat. _'It's okay . . . I'll be okay!'_ She tightly clenched her pale fists and with emboldened eyes, pushed open the door to Gym Gamma with two of her spider legs. As she slowly stepped in through the partition, her legs became rooted to their spot at the sight in front of her.

She could spot Fujita-san and Nishiya-san at the front of the crowded students, watching the spectacle with wide eyes while, on the judges panel, Creati had covered her mouth with her hands.

. . . The creepy Villain from the horrifying morning encounter was no match for the current Enoshima Kazumi.

The lamia (another powerful beauty Suzuran could never hope to reach the level of) had somehow grown in size by a large degree – she had been the tallest student in their class at around 6 feet but right now, in height alone, she was easily over 10 feet. And the way her thick, muscular tail wrapped around the crystalline fortification (whose origination Suzuran had a faint idea about), with powerful scales flexing . . .

She was a _beast_.

"Thissssssss isssssss nothing," Kazumi gritted and contracted her tail tighter around Ryo's gemstone wall – the thick and powerful muscles were causing cracks to slowly but gradually appear in the structure. (And the tensed scowl on the delinquent boy's face was such a delight to watch too). _'Just watch, everyone.'_ She threw flitting glances at Hoshi, Kenio, Fuma, Asuna and Kasai. Pieces of crystal began to crumble from the building and as the strength she exerted increased, her dark skin slowly begun to get covered in crimson scales.

' _Watch what_ _ **TRUE**_ _power is.'_

"She looks . . . really scary . . ." Fear was clear in Aisen's eyes as his fingers clenched a silent Mashiro's shirt sleeve.

That sentence was music to Kazumi's ears. _'Yes, FEAR ME.'_ Her lips tore in a wide smirk as with a final surge in power, she squashed the structure in the grip of her gigantic tail – and with a loud crash, big and small shards of crystal flew through the air and spread all over the floor of Gym Gamma. The wall came crashing down and the students were forced to back away in order to escape any stray pieces that might hit them – with the loud rumbling of collision, the entire tower of crystal fell on the ground, covering the floor in a mess of broken gemstones.

' _Weaklings like you can_ _ **NEVER**_ _hope to compete with_ _ **ME**_ _.'_

Once all the dust from the crash had cleared, Kazumi, back to her normal form, bowed politely in front of the shocked judges with a polite smile on her face. Koji couldn't help softly guffawing, "What a sweet smile . . . it gives me diabetes."

Creati's hand slightly shook as she turned to look down the girl's name on her mark sheet. _'Such raw, unadulterated power . . . if she were to stray from the Hero path . . .'_ The Pro shook her head, dispelling all notions and regaining her composure. _'No, I must not think such things. Under U.A.'s guidance, none of these children will lose themselves.'_ Allotting the points, she couldn't erase the image of the girl's powerful tail crushing the sturdy structure from her mind. _'So much power . . . so much strength . . . it's almost . . . scary . . .'_

Suzuran, who'd been standing near the door of the gym all this while, was finally snapped out of her reverie when she heard Tsukuyomi-sensei call her name. "-gumo-san, please come here." All the other students snapped their attention towards her and under all their curious gazes, she wanted the ground to swallow her up.

The walk towards the judges panel was unbearably long and painful and, shielding herself with her spider legs, the small girl had to constantly remind herself that skittering out the door would be cowardly and shameful. "Where were you?" Asuna hissed as Suzuran crossed her and she did, she r _eally almost did,_ take the chair next to her but her class teacher called out to her again, this time a little more impatiently. "Please hurry up, Asagumo."

So ignoring the mumbles of her classmates, she hurried the last few steps and stopped near Creati. "Are you well enough to perform?" The older woman was gentle in tone and Suzuran nodded hurriedly, some of the redness fading from her face as the spider legs hovered away. Creati's smile brightened and she complimented, "That's brave of you, Asagumo-san. I look forward to your performance."

The girl flushed a bright red again, muttering a hushed, "Thank you."

"Take a seat until you are called up front," Tsukuyomi instructed. Suzuran gave three hurried nods and skittered back, keeping her head bowed low and hoping that she wouldn't be asked too many questions by her classmates.

Alas, as usual, luck did not favour her. "Asagumo-san, what in the world popped up that made you late today, of all days?!" Asuna tried, and failed, in keeping her voice to a low whisper. The rose-haired girl withered away at the furious glower in the narrow magenta eyes.

"But I'm glad you arrived, Suzu-chan~," Hoshi popped up to block Asuna, smiling at Suzuran as she took her smaller friend's palm and ushered her to a nearby chair. Suzuran was thankful for the change in conversation but panicked when her freckled classmate got a thoughtful look on her face and wondered aloud, "Although it definitely isn't like you to be tardy . . ."

She felt her throat close up and her spider legs began fidgeting in the background. As both Asuna and Hoshi neared her, the girl began hyperventilating, "I-I-I . . . Well . . . I . . . y-you see-"

But some merciful God decided to pity her just once. Dark Shadow popped out of his owner's back and cawed, "Yuki Jack!"

Aisen, whose jaw had been hanging open since the beginning of Kazumi's performance, had to be stirred to consciousness by Kenio. "W-wha . . . w-who m-me . . .?!" he incoherently babbled, pointing at himself.

"Do we have _another_ 'Yuki Jack in class, genius?!" Asuna snapped, sounding even more pissed off than usual.

As Aisen turned to dumbly goggle at her, he mumbled, ". . . I guess not." His eyes looked to be on the verge of flooding with tears. "Why do _I_ have to go after that Herculean Medusa?"

"Come one, get a grip." Habiki patted him encouragingly on the back as the blond disparagingly stood up from his seat. "You practiced hard. You'll do well, Yuki-san."

"Yes, you don't have to compete with anyone!" Kenio cheered, trying to fire his friend up. "You just have to go out there and give _your_ best!" The boy nodded but he didn't look half as convinced as he slowly trudged to the front of the stage. As he passed by Kazumi, she met his gaze and flashed him an incredibly contemptuous smile.

That made even the small flickers of hope fade from his violet eyes.

Aisen gulped as he faced the judges – the penetrating gazes of the top Heroes of their country was like the whole weight of Earth had been set on his slender shoulders. His eyes could still see the overwhelming strength of Kazumi as she'd crushed Ryo's sturdy crystal wall under her tail. His hand fidgeted with the family pendant that hung around his neck as he processed his routine in his mind. _'Forgive me, Lena . . . Al . . . Anya . . . I'm gonna fail this so hard . . .'_

' _. . . But I'm gonna at least try to do my best!'_

"I'm Jack Yuki but p-please call me Aisen!" The blond did his best to swallow all his nervousness and insecurity and plastered a bright smile on his face, waving at the judges. Assured by a tender smile from Creati, he continued, "M-My Quirk's Shine Burning and it is a flame Quirk which allows me to control golden flames . . . a-and!" His pitch increased as his words stumbled over each other. "The added effect of extra light can increase their temperature and allows me to buff any support item in order to increase its effectiveness!"

And with that announcement, he conjured sparkling amber flares in his palms – as they burnished with a bright glare, lighting up the area around him in intense light, Aisen shot them towards the crumbled pieces of crystal in the form of two fireballs. They burst on impact and created a brilliant vertigo of jade and ochre, like burning meteors crashing through the stratosphere. Dragging his right hand in a vertical arch, he shot out a shower of golden flames that lit the remaining stump of Ryo's fortress in a bright blaze – the flames were less intense than those created by Kasai's Death Breath but radiated more heat.

' _Of course, there's that one more thing left to do-'_ Aisen gripped his fists as he prepared himself for the final part of his routine-

-But something made him freeze.

Kenio's brilliant animations, Reiko's swift skills with her Ankle Wheels, Kenshi's versatile creations and Kazumi's raw show of strength and power . . . all these images plagued the blond's mind, hovering over his eyes like cursed images. _'. . . I . . . don't have to compete with anyone . . . I . . . just have to do my own best . . .'_

Shutting his eyes and taking in a deep breath, Aisen gripped his fists by his sides and bowed in front of the judges. "T-That's all!" He forced himself to stutter out. "Thank you for your time!"

' _No, I still have something to show . . .'_

Creati stared at him with watchful eyes. "Are you sure, Yuki-san?" She was asking him for confirmation – a chance to properly finish what he had started.

' _. . . I'm not . . . I still . . . I still have . . .'_ He bit down on his lower lip, so frustrated for the sudden apprehension that cropped up in his heart. _'But . . .,'_ The way Kazumi crushed the crystalline fortress within her tail . . . the raw power she possessed . . ., _'. . . it's just not . . . good enough . . .'_

Aisen raised himself and gave them a bright, shaky grin. "Yes! Thank you very much!" Tsukuyomi nodded at him to depart and the blond marched back to his seat, amidst encouraging applause from his friends.

Habiki observed the blond silently, wanting to speak, wanting to protest against his fake grin. But it was none of his business, wasn't it? At least, for now, it was better to crack a smile at Aisen's stupid puns and laugh along, pretending he understood only as much as the others.

And the twelfth student was surely going to keep all their attentions engaged for the next few minutes.

"Kanashimi Fuma!"

All eyes turned to the dark-haired boy in the corner – the class enigma, the mysterious scion of a once-powerful Hero family.

A boy you could instinctively _feel_ was strong.

Fuma slowly stepped up from his chair, lidded eyes glinting green.

"It's about time."

* * *

 **ED 1 – No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **(Sorry for not being able to update last week! I thought I'd be able to post a chapter for sure but was dragged off to the annual obligatory family vacation. However, thank you everyone for patiently waiting and A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY LOVELY READERS! May 2019 be an amazing year for everyone and may 'Generation Z' be able to keep you all entertained through this New Year!**

 **Also, the forum for MHAGZ is up! The link can be found on my profile, just above the character roster for the story.)**


	9. Ch 8 - Raw Talent

**OP 1 – Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 – Raw Talent**

(Thursday, 21st April, 11:34 a.m. – U.A.)

Tsukuyomi flicked his gaze towards his wristwatch – as he'd predicted, they would overrun the allotted time and would have to expand a little into lunch break. Well, it was the students' fault for not being able to adhere to the five-minute time limit so it was only fitting they'd be punished for it with a shortened lunch break.

' _But this one is going to be interesting,'_ his thoughts ran as Fuma approached the judges panel and gave a low bow, his posture similar to Akaname but riddled with intense severity. "Kanashimi Fuma," his deep voice was almost monotonous with its cold, hard-edged professionalism, more fitting for a jaded middle-aged person than a teenage high school student. But with the background he came from . . . it was no wonder why his young face looked like it hadn't ever smiled.

"My Quirk, Emotions Manifest, allows me to convert my emotion of melancholy into raw energy." His introduction was brief but explanatory – even though most in the room were rather familiar with it. After all, the dark green-haired boy was quite a celebrity, being the only surviving member of the Kanashimi family of Heroes – the Emotional Trio.

A boy fated to a sorrowful destiny.

Without further words, Fuma opened his eyes the slightest bit and with a gentle buzz, his body soon became shrouded in an emerald glow. Kenio, Akaname, Mashiro, Hoshi and Kasai, who had been front-seat viewers of Fuma's battle with the 100-pointer during the entrance test, were once again awed by the sheer amount of power the boy exuded. As he took in a combat stance, feet bent at a running angle and fists drawn back, the glow around him increased in intensity.

To no one's surprise, the boy took off running.

"H-He's fast!" Reiko squawked, twisting her head painfully in order to keep up with his speed. Although not on the level of the class' missile boy or the blonde skater, Fuma was head and shoulders faster on his feet than most of his classmates'. His movements were fluid and graceful and as he launched himself in the air, propelling towards the wall, Reiko's eyes widened when she realised what he was trying to do.

' _He's gonna-!'_

Fuma ran up the wall with ease, feet creating small craters on the cemented floor as he jumped up, and another crater was created when he stepped on the wall. Low vibrations rung through the entirety of Gym Gamma, in tandem with his movements, and the blonde couldn't help shaking a little as she watched her mysterious classmate with glued eyes.

The vertical ride she had practiced so hard to achieve, even if it were only for a short period of time . . . he was performing it effortlessly, without the least bit of strain visible on him. He rode up a far greater distance than she had and making a risky swivel, Fuma began running right _across_ the wall.

Tsukuyomi felt a shaking hand clutch at the edge of his cloak. "Can you see . . .?" Creati was unable to take off her wide eyes from Fuma. "That dexterity . . . the agility . . . the power each step exudes . . .," The teenager was leaving behind a wake of small craters in each step he took and as he jumped to the ground, a medium-sized crater formed under his feet with the resulting vibration almost toppling the smaller students from their chairs. Asuna grumbled something under her breath as she steadied both Hoshi and Suzuran's chairs.

Fuma skidded to a stop and spun around on his heels to face the audience, still enveloped in the chartreuse haze. Raising both his hands to a parallel level with his torso, he began to concentrate a large amount of energy on his forearms and hands. As the glow around them intensified, almost to a bright shade of shamrock, he pulled back a little and with flexed muscles, aligned his arms in the shape of a cross.

' _I wish you were here to watch how much I've improved, Inori.'_

When he brought down his arms, two azure slashes of power exploded through the building and crashed through the cement walls, travelling outside to one of the chestnut trees in the garden and making a clean cut through it.

Everyone stayed silent as the top half of the chestnut tree toppled to the ground with a loud crash.

' _. . . Did it just . . .,'_ Creati stood up from her chair and leaned forward, gaze darting from Fuma to the faraway tree, visible through duo of large, curved gaps in the cement wall. _'. . . 400 metres . . . his attack travelled a distance of 400 metres . . .'_

Sitting between the shocked and gaping Kenio, Habiki and Aisen, Akaname broke into soft applause. "As expected of Kanashimi-san . . ."

No one could take their eyes off the boy as he walked towards the judges' panel, gave another deep bow, muttered a low, "Thank you," and sauntered back to his corner seat. It was all done so nonchalantly . . . like he hadn't just proved himself as one of the top dogs of 1-A.

' _Finally . . ._ _ **someone**_ _worthy of my attention.'_ Kazumi couldn't help licking her lips as she discreetly stared at the boy. The top of her P.E. uniform, although ripped in some places due to her gigantification, remained mostly intact due to U.A.'s immaculate preparation of providing stretchable material underneath. _'This makes me want to get to know you better . . . Kanashimi-kun . . .'_

The judges mentally went through their analysis of the boy, his skills and his Quirk but despite their different thought processes, there was one thing all of them agreed on:

' _Currently, no one from Class 1-A could beat him in a fair fight.'_

"Fujita Hoshi!"

When there was no response from the girl beside her, Asuna turned to her left only to see the amber-eyed girl staring off into the distance, a lost look visible on her face. "Hey, space cadet, they're calling you!" When the girl failed to respond again, the brunette sighed in annoyance and poked a round cheek. "FU-JI-TA-SAN, it's your turn!"

"E-Eh?!" The girl gasped out at the sudden contact and looking up, blushed under the gazes of all the eyes staring at her. "Y-Yes! That's me! Fujita Hoshi!" she squeaked out, standing up from her chair in an attentive pose.

"We know that, Fujita," Tsukuyomi's voice was mostly neutral but the undercurrent of exasperation would only be missed by the very dim-witted. "Please come up here now." The freckled girl nodded, and smiling softly towards all her friends who wished her good luck, walked up to the front of the gym.

"Good morning! I'm Fujita Hoshi and my Quirk is Gravity Field.~" As the girl smiled with flushed cheeks, Creati couldn't help the slight twinge she felt. The surname . . . the blue hair . . . but most importantly, that _Quirk_. . . _'Isn't she . . ._ _ **his**_ _daughter?'_ She glanced at Tsukuyomi from the corner of her eye but he was staring impassively ahead, completely unaware to the questioning look on her face. _'I wonder if Ochako-san is aware of this . . .'_

This year's Class 1-A was full of phenomenal students.

"-and control anything I attract within my field of gravity.~" Due to her musings, Momo had missed the first part of Hoshi's Quirk introduction but having memorised the students' files before coming, it was not a major problem for her. "Okay . . . I shall begin now!~" The girl cheerfully pumped a fist in the air and her short, fluffy curls, which flowed upwards most of the time, finally settled down on her shoulders.

Reaching into the pockets of her blue U.A. joggers, Hoshi brought out a variety of colourful glass marbles and flung them up into the air. However, before they could fall to the ground, a circle of pale yellow light shortly radiated from her body and all the marbles stopped in mid-air. As she started swaying around lightly, so did they, dancing in the air and circling around the girl like tiny, vibrant meteors.

"The Gravity Field trails after me as I move around – and so does any object that is caught in its attraction." To prove her words, the small girl lightly skipped around the gym and the marbles followed in her wake, hovering in the air close to her figure. No one amongst the audience could deny just how cute she looked, skipping along like an innocent, happy child. Creati was unable to restrain the heart-warming smile on her face.

Kazumi tried to keep off the ugly sneer that was threatening to crawl onto her face. _'Teachers are watching, Kazumi,'_ she reminded herself.

"And-!~" Hoshi came to a stop and so did her marbles but they kept floating in the air. With her hands folded behind her back, she explained, "When I apply enough pressure on them, theyyyyyyyy . . ." The girl let the end of her sentence trail off and the marbles rapidly behan circling around her figure in a spiral. As she lifted them upwards to the edge of her gravity field, she spread them out as much as she could and-

"Fireworks!" The girl delightfully clapped her hands once and the marbles caught flames during their spinning. Looks of wonder erupted on everyone's faces as they looked at the sight of the shooting meteors that flurried around Hoshi, sparkling in flames of cerulean, scarlet and gold. After performing a small, spiralling dance, the marbles dropped to the ground and the flames extinguished themselves.

As most people burst into soft applause and gentle cheers, Hoshi giggled lightly and bowed. "Thank you!~"

Once the girl had taken her seat, Momo smiled down at the student mark sheet. "I feel really envious of you, Tokoyami-san." The avian-headed male turned to look at her in confusion. "You have such talented students this year," she finished, allotting points against the sapphire-haired girl's name.

Tsukuyomi, writing on his own mark sheet, remained silent for a while. But in the end, he replied, "I know."

The fourteenth student was called up soon after. "Madou Mashiro!"

"Hue hue hue~," the snow-haired boy lazily got up from his seat, body slouched over and a sleazy smile plastered on his face. "Please watch me, Keni-chi, Aka-chi and everyone else!~" His grin made Habiki so uncomfortable the curly-haired boy couldn't meet eyes with him.

"Yes, we definitely will!" Kenio shot him a thumbs up. "Go rock it, Madou-san!"

"Bone it out, Mashiro!" Aisen flashed him a victory sign.

"Maybe everyone will end up having a boner by the end of your performance, that way." As usual, Koji's comment elicited horrified gasps and disgusted looks from everyone.

THWACK!

"Thank you once again, Nishiya-san," Habiki repeated his words from earlier, staring at the passed out figure of the green-haired boy who now had two bumps on his head.

"I wonder if this pervert is ever gonna learn," the brunette gritted through clenched teeth.

As Aisen laughed at the comedic scene, Habiki couldn't help smiling to himself – even if only by a little, at least the blond didn't sport his despair-filled expression anymore. However, when the black-haired boy looked up, his gaze briefly collided with Mashiro's black irises – and the cat-like smile the boy shot him sent a ripple down his spine. _'What_ _ **is**_ _up with him?'_ He stared at the slouched boy's back as he dawdled to the front of the class for his performance.

"Madou Mashiro, reporting for the Talent Show!~" He introduced himself in a singsong, casually waving at the gathered judges. "My Quirk is Bone Manipulation which allows me to protrude, shape and bend my bones out of my body!" Predictably, there were many cringes and grimaces amidst the student crowd – Akaname, having been first witness to the Quirk, was surprisingly not one of them. "Don't worry! Even though it sounds creepy and is incredibly painful, I have a lot of fun with my Quirk!" His lips twisted into an encouraging smile.

' _Have . . . fun with it?'_ Jigoku and Koji's thoughts ran on the same dirty road and both had to clamp mouths over their hands to stifle their laughter. Eraserhead shot them such a piercing glare they immediately stiffened and shut up.

"Alright, that's enough chatter from me!~" Mashiro turned around, facing the judges and splayed apart his legs while holding his arms away from his body at a curved angle. "Let me just show you the rest!" Immediately, sharply angled bones began protruding from his elbows and knees. "I can control the size and shape to my liking!" He winced a little but the grin on his face stayed unaffected as the bone scythes on his elbows gradually increased in size and broadened in breadth. Watching the process was not as painful as performing it was but some of the more squeamish students – particularly Suzuran, Akaname and Aisen – were finding it hard to keep on looking.

Mashiro only stopped when the scythes were at least half a metre in length and curved like the scythes the mythical Shinigami were known to carry. The bones that jutted out of his knees began straightening and tapering at the edges to form what seemed to be dagger-shaped creations. With sweat trickling down his forehead and down his nape, he began moving around with his bony weapons and started emulating fighting stances and attacks. Making high kicks and scythe slashes in the air, the boy explained, "Whenever I want to make a protrusion, the pores in my body expand in the specific area and the blood vessels move away so I don't break my skin or go through blood loss."

' _Ah, that was one of my questions regarding his Quirk.'_ Momo began jotting down remarks against Madou Mashiro's name in her mark sheet. _'He has good presence of mind to explain it.'_

"And now . . . my special technique!"

Everyone sat up straighter, their interests piqued – the makeshift scythes and daggers re-entered Mashiro's body. _'I wonder what that could b-W-WOAHHHHHH!'_ Momo lightly flushed as the boy began taking off his shirt – amidst the student crowd, Reiko's jaw almost hit the floor while Asuna clamped her hands over Suzuran and Hoshi's eyes, screaming softly. A light blush settled over Kagami's face as she tried to look everywhere but at her undressing classmate and Kazumi just leaned forward on her chair, smirking as she raised a curious eyebrow.

Although not as athletic or muscular as some of his other male classmates, his body was lean and athletic with visibly toned biceps and arms, skin the colour and texture of smooth alabaster. "Special Move – Rib-Armour!" he yelled out. As some brains instantly realised what the words meant, many eyes almost rolled out of their sockets at what happened next.

His ribcage slowly began forming out of his skin.

"O-Oh my God!" Akaname took off his spectacles, unable to take it anymore and all of Suzuran's eight spider legs blocked her face from the harrowing scene in front of her. Even Koji looked a little disgusted at what was happening but his curiosity seemed to override that disgust as he stood up to have a better view of the snow-haired boy's body. Drops of sweat left trails down Mashiro's temple and dripped down his chin onto a rib-end – the pain he was going through was the worst he'd ever felt but he'd been working on his special armour for over one year.

' _And every time . . . every time I'm unable to fully complete it because of the pain.'_ Ribs jutted out of his chest, arching towards each other and hardening once they came into contact with the outside air. _'But this time . . . for the talent show . . . I'll_ _ **do**_ _it! Although . . .'_

' _IT FUCKING HURTS.'_

Twisting his bones, increasing their size, thickening their density – every act would add a new dimension of pain to his body. It was so, so painful that some times, Mashiro had wished:

' _Death would be better than having a Quirk like this.'_

But now, he was adamant on mastering his Quirk, even if it broke him apart and tore him on the inside. Because . . . there were people . . . people who believed in him.

The ribs were now halfway out of his skin, crawling out of his skin like jagged weapons but it was obvious that the act was putting the boy through intense struggle. His legs were quivering and his skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

Kenio got up from his chair and yelled, "Madou-san, you don't have to go that far-!"

Hearing that, Mashiro briefly stopped.

' _I . . . don't have to . . .? But . . .'_

 _( "To defeat darkness . . . one must done the shroud of an even greater darkness."_

" _Only bigger chaos can defeat chaos."_

" _Those who stare too intently into the abyss . . . become the abyss. Are you ready to become the abyss, Shiro-kun?" )_

He faintly grinned to himself and continued his process, his ribs now extending at a faster pace. Akaname stood up and began speed walking towards him. "Madou-san, that's enough!" He yelled in a raised voice, pink eyebrows angrily knitted. "Do you think we can't see how much pain it's causing you?!"

' _Pain . . .? . . . Ah, yes, it hurts . . . but it's because of that . . . it's precisely because of that . . .'_

Suddenly, his head was swimming. His body felt heavy – and his legs, they couldn't bear the weight anymore. The pain . . . it was too much . . . it was _far_ too much . . .

Cold, pale fingers grasped at nothingness as legs gave away.

As the boy fell backward, darkness enveloping his vision . . . he could hear voices in the distance calling for him, shouting his name.

"Mado-!"

' _. . . That it's so much fun.'_

* * *

As soon as Inori opened the door to Gym Gamma, she was greeted with the sight of worried students, fussing teachers and an unconscious, shirtless Mashiro in Eraserhead's arms. She couldn't take her eyes away from the half-formed ribcage on his chest and when Eraserhead and Present Mic nudged her aside, obviously carrying the boy to the infirmary, her body moved on autopilot. As she walked in, there was even more chaos – Kenio and Akaname were harrowing Tsukuyomi and the other two adults with questions and most of the students had incredibly worried expressions on their faces.

"T-Tetsuya-san!" Aisen was the first to notice her and call out – the smile he offered her was strained and disappeared as soon as it'd appeared. "T-This is bad! Mashiro fainted during his performance!"

"Can't we go visit him just for a little, sensei?" Kenio seemed to be pleading to their class teacher for something while Akaname stood quiet and introspective beside him.

Tokoyami fixed the panicked ginger with a penetrating stare and uttered in a grave voice, "And what will you do, attending to him? Can you heal him using your Quirk or alleviate his physical pain?" The ginger immediately shut up, searching for words to retort with but not finding any. Continuing in a softer tone, the Jet Black Hero continued, "We have one of the best medics in the country, Recovery Man, in U.A. Under his care, Madou will be completely fine and walking before the day ends." Then, speaking to all the students in a louder tone, "All of you need to focus on the performances for now. No one will leave this Gym until everyone is done. Those who want to use the bathroom, will find one behind the door on the left wall." Spying said door, Suzuran, Reiko and Kasai headed towards it.

"Please get back to your seats, children," Creati was quick to speak up, placating the two boys with a kind smile and gentle voice. "Under our guidance, nothing will happen to Madou-san. That is our promise." The commitment in her words convinced Kenio and Akaname and bowing and thanking the teachers, they walked back to their chairs. Momo shot Tokoyami a dry look and stated, "They're children, Tokoyami-san. Sometimes, you have to offer them sweets." Tsukuyomi said nothing but muttered a small "Hmph" under his breath.

The ginger, who was staring at the floor, erupted into a smile when he noticed Inori sitting on the chair beside his. "Inori-san!" he smiled weakly at her. "Where were you?!"

Inori opened her mouth but before she could speak, Dark Shadow yelled, "Hanransha Yasu!"

As the ash blond got up from his seat at the very back of the row, she mumbled, "I'll tell you later." He nodded faintly.

The tall boy slowly made his way to the front of the class with long strides – ever since the first day, he'd been one of the quietest students in class, the lower half of his face always hidden behind his black balaclava. Most of the students were very intrigued to see what his Quirk was since he'd been one of the few students who hadn't mentioned his yet and a row of curious heads intently stared as the tall blond faced the three judges.

"Good morning, I am Hanransha Yasu." He seemed to test each word on his tongue before uttering it, resulting in a slow speech pattern. Habiki saw Creati and Tsukuyomi exchange a furtive glance for the briefest of seconds and unconsciously, his Quirk tapped into the former's mind. _'-from the accident four years ago in Copper's Elementary.'_ The black-haired boy forced his Quirk shut, holding his head between his hands. No matter how hard he tried to control it, his damned mind-reading would sometimes unconsciously switch on and he'd feel choked with guilt for prying into private thoughts.

But the remainder of the sentence he'd just caught greatly worried him. _'. . . Why am_ _ **I**_ _the one who has to get caught up in all these disturbing thoughts?'_

"And my Quirk is called Bad Blood." Before Koji could utter a sound, Yasu dryly added, "And no, it isn't named after Taylor Swift's song." That shut the seafoam-haired boy and caused him to pout.

' _HE ACTUALLY SHUT KOJI UP!'_ Many of the students internally gasped and stared at the blond with newfound awe and respect. _'WHAT A GUY!'_

"It allows me to shoot out corrosive blood from my mouth and eyes-", Akaname's eyes widened in alarm as soon as he uttered the sentence, "-which can melt even steel or concrete on contact." He proceeded to walk to one of the pillars that supported the high ceiling in the room and without warning, short two thick waterfalls of dark crimson blood from his eyes. Akaname quickly excused himself and ran to the bathroom, both hands clamped over his masked mouth, and Suzuran, who'd just been coming out of the brown door, had one look at the spectacle and she quickly skittered back in, a spider leg shutting the door behind her.

Yasu stopped his spraying after half a minute had passed and brought out a thick handkerchief to dab away the blood trails around his eyes. He examined the pillar in front of him with a satisfied expression – his acidic blood was slowly but surely eating away at the concrete, causing pieces to crumble and melt off onto the floor. Stray drops of his blood had even created miniscule holes in the ground.

"Thank you very much." His bow was abrupt and as he proceeded to walk back to his seat, everyone's thoughts echoed, _'THAT'S IT?!'_

' _Well . . . that was short but interesting.'_ Creati tapped her pen beside Yasu's name on the mark sheet, unsure of what to write. Her fellow teachers seemed to be having the same dilemma.

' _We didn't get to see much of it but it is a lot like Mina's Quirk.'_ Cellophane wrote with thoughts of his close friend hovering in his mind – he was planning to visit her, her husband and baby Yuji soon. _'So I'd make a gander and say her strengths and weaknesses apply to him too.'_

"I-Is it over . . .?" Suzuran slowly hinged the door open with a spider leg while two still hovered over her eyes.

". . . It is, fortunately." Akaname replied from behind her as he spied the ash blond sitting between Jigoku and Kasai and having a soft conversation with the latter. He seemed to have garnered the attention of some of the loud students from the front row too. With his glasses glinting, the pink-haired teen muttered, "There are a lot of troublesome students in our class, it seems . . ." As he pushed past Suzuran and calmly entered the gym again, the girl felt chills pervade her body at the dark aura that surrounded him.

When the sixteenth student was called, a wave of anticipation overrode the whole class. Throwing one ringlet twin-tail over her shoulder, Asuna was blooming with confidence as she stood up. "Watch, all of you!" she exclaimed with an arrogant smirk. Spinning around on her heels, she pointed a finger at everyone and announced, "Now, you will see the best talent show performance of your lives! Mark my words! Hmph!" And with that, she stalked off.

"Whatever you say, Princess," Jigoku smiled after her, arms crossed behind his head.

"What a sssssssspoiled brat," Kazumi muttered. _'But the child of Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady? If she's as powerful as her parents . . . heh . . . this should be interesting . . .'_

* * *

 **Student Name: Koji Aizawa**

 **Quirk: Gutbuster**

 **A hybrid Quirk which is a combination of Erasure and Outburst, Koji can make his targets break into laughter using his voice as the catalyst. These fits are powerful enough to debilitate the targets' cognitive and physical functions and they are unable to use their Quirks when they are in this condition.**

 **P.S: Koji's favourite clothing brand is Forever 21.**

* * *

(Thursday, 21st April, 11:53 a.m. – U.A.)

Asuna's steps were fairly aggressive as she stalked to the front of the gym but when she crossed by Inori, she couldn't help throwing a side glance her way. _'Just you wait!'_ The black-haired girl was talking to Habiki, her back turned towards the brunette. _'Just watch how much I've surpassed you!'_

 _( "I want to be as strong as you, Inori-chan!" )_

"As all of you may be familiar," the girl pressed a flat palm on her chest as she addressed the judges, "I am Nishiya Asuna, daughter of the great Pro Heroes Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady!" Tsukuyomi and the other two, having worked with both of them before, could see how much the latter had rubbed off on the young girl. "And my Quirk, Gardening, is an example of a perfect combination of two powerful Quirks. Of course, that's only obvious when you're talented Heroes like my parents! Ahahahahahahahaha- Ahem!" She coughed in the middle of her laughter once she realised she was getting carried away – after all, it was obvious from the deadpan expressions on everyone's faces. "A-Anyway," she stuttered, a little embarrassed, "Gardening allows me to manipulate plants in any way I wish – be it altering their shape, increasing or decreasing their size or making them move."

 _( "Inori-chan! This White Rose is for you!" )_

"That's a lot of things . . .," Aisen mumbled, counting on his fingers.

"Now I shall show you just how powerful and wonderful my Quirk is!" Her hand travelled to the white fanny pack wrapped around her waist, fetching two small twigs. "Behold, everyone!" She threw both pieces in the air and-

"W-Woah!" Koji, who was sitting at the edge of the student group, barely dodged in time to avoid getting hit by a stray branch. The students huddled together in the middle as the tiny twigs Asuna had thrown up in the air had suddenly transformed into gigantic tree trunks and surrounded them on either side. The brunette grinned delightedly as she ran over to one trunk and put a palm on its bark. Several branches, as pointed as sharpened needles, appeared all over the body of the trunk.

"I-Is she trying to turn us into manure or something?!" Aisen cried, a barbed branch only metres away from him.

' _Amazing!'_ Creati looked positively delighted. _'Such skill and control over her Quirk!'_

However, Asuna was obviously not done yet. She held a few seeds in her hand and as she threw them up, she cried, "Shower!" Strong, thick vines erupted out of them and spread all over the floor of the gym, tangling against chair legs and some even flurried around the judges panel. "Dance, petals!" She shot out a handful of dry flowers and they torpedoed high up in the air, rotating at enormous speed before their petals disengaged and covered the three judges and students. Soft and gentle, a myriad of white, pink, red and yellow seemed to rain in scented flakes.

Tsukuyomi caught a white petal in his palm. _'Power, talent, control, diversity and beauty . . . this child is truly of the highest pedigree.'_ A whole orange rose settled itself before Momo and as the Pro Hero looked at it with pure delight, her eyes met Asuna's who smiled at her.

"And now . . . for the finale . . ." The brunette announced as she took off her fanny pack, opened the zip and threw its remaining contents in the air. Dry leaves slowly hovered in front of the brunette. "Leaf Storm!" She threw her hands up and immediately, the leaves began spinning rapidly before shooting off into different directions, leaving behind a windy trail. One whizzed closely past Kazumi's ear and lodged into the pillar right behind her – its physical structure was no more that of a normal leaf but seemed to have acquired a metallic texture.

' _Did this brat . . . just challenge me?'_ Sulphuric eyes slightly widened in shock and once her gaze met Asuna's, a brief but electric spark was visible between them. However, realising this was not the time or place for a show of rivalry, the brunette tore her stare away and ran her hand through a twin-tail. "I'm sure all of you had fun so hopefully, I'll be marked accordingly, dear teachers! Ahahahahahahaha!" And with her obnoxious laughter, she stalked proudly back to her seat.

"You were amazing, Asuna-chan!~" Hoshi was one of the first to compliment her, smiling brightly.

"Hah, but of course!" The magenta-eyed girl snorted, plopping gracefully on her seat. "Did you expect anything _less_ of me?!"

' _Power, talent, control, diversity . . . yet another personality that needs to be disciplined and purged.'_ Tsukuyomi suppressed his umpteenth sigh of the day.

' _I hope you can see how far I've surpassed you, Inori!'_ Asuna turned to the expressionless raven-head, who seemed to be lost in thought. _'I . . . am no more your sidekick!'_

 _( "I HATE YOU, INORI." )_

Dark Shadow, after having a look at the paper his owner was scribbling on, called out the next name. "Hara Habiki!"

"Well, looks like I'm one of those who's getting the short end of the stick today." Despite his words, Habiki was very calm as he walked to the performing area and smiled back to wave at his friends for their encouraging comments. With a brief bow to the judges, he was quick to introduce himself. "Good morning, I am Hara Habiki and my Quirk is called Mind Break." His voice was smooth and airy and the smile on his face charismatic – combined with his small stature and delicate facial features, the boy appeared to be disarming and harmless . . . some could even call him fragile.

But Tsukuyomi and Cellophane, who'd seen his performance during the entrance exam, knew that he was someone who could perfectly hold his own even without a combative Quirk.

"Ah, thank you for the compliment, Tsukuyomi-sensei and Cellophane-sensei." Habiki's smile was sweet and his eyes grateful as he levelled gazes with them. "The entrance took a lot out of me but one cannot expect any less of U.A., can they?"

Both teachers slightly stiffened at the sentence. "But they didn't say anything, ya know?!" Jobu yelled, confused at why the short boy had suddenly said what he did.

"They don't have to s _ay_ anything out loud – figuring what is in their _mind_ is precisely what Hara-san's Quirk is, Jobu-san." Yasu was the first to explain things to the silver-haired boy, who turned to look at him for more clarification. "Just think of him as the Japanese version of Edward Cullen." When the grey-haired boy seemed to become more confused at his words, the blond sighed, "Simply put, he can read minds."

Jobu opened his mouth to say something but ended up saying, "Correct guess but that's not the only thing I can do, Hanransha-san." When the sharp-toothed boy realised what he'd just said, he clamped a hand over his mouth and exclaimed, "H-Hey! I didn't mean to say that!" However, those words had unmistakably come out of his mouth, in his voice. Yasu caught sight of Habiki cheekily smiling at the panicking boy before his silver eyes moved to the ash blond's face.

"Heh . . . you're pretty intelligent, Hanransha-san." Gears were slowly beginning to turn in the heads of some students as to the true – and terrifying – nature of their demure classmate's Quirk. Yasu was staring at Habiki with wary eyes as he realised his mind was being read. "I can't force-put my words into others' mouths but I can convincingly 'influence' them to say certain things. Like-"

The silver eyes roved amidst worried faces, searching carefully. _'Hmm . . . who to choose . . . who to choose . . .'_

' _. . . Aah.'_

When Inori realised she was being stared at, she looked up and was immediately met with Habiki's smile. She wanted to ask why he was staring at her like that but the words that came out of her mouth were something else. "You guys may think my ability is too powerful but I assure you, it has plenty of its own weaknesses." _'Huh . . . what am I saying?'_ "You'll realise soon. Do . . . Re . . . Mi- Wait, why am I singing?" The raven-head abruptly cut into her own sentence, trailing thin fingers over pale lips – she clicked her tongue, testing her control on the appendage.

' _Figure it out already, dumbasses.'_ Ryo scowled deeply at everyone, chin resting on a fisted palm. _'Hara's Quirk isn't molecular science or anything.'_

' _Oh . . . oh, I've got it!'_ Creati had realisation dawn upon her and with it came the satisfaction of knowledge. Coughing and composing herself to look more serious, she addressed Habiki, "You can 'influence' your targets and put unnecessary thoughts in their heads but once they learn to differentiate 'your' voice from 'their' voice . . . you can't do anything." He turned to stare impassively at her for a few seconds and for some reason, nervousness bloomed in her chest. "Am I . . . right?"

The short boy broke into a soft smile and complimented, "Incredible, Creati-san. I knew you were intelligent but that was accurate theorizing on your part . . . and so quickly as well." When Momo allowed herself to finally smile, he continued, "It is exactly as you say." Half-turning towards his quiet classmates, he explained, "Mind Break allows me to read thoughts and force my own thoughts into the mind of targets but once they realise that those thoughts are not their own, I can't do much after that."

' _I see.'_ Inori stared at her lap in deep thought. _'That's why, once I questioned myself about the validity of the words that were swirling in my mind, I could control my voice.'_ So contrary to what everyone had previously thought, Habiki's Quirk wasn't an overpowering form of mind control. _'But still . . .,'_ She turned to stare at the boy who calmly seated himself in his chair once again, amidst praises and questions from the others. _'. . . What a powerful Quirk.'_

Now only with three more students left and lunch break having already begun, Dark Shadow was quick to call out the next name. "Asagumo Suzuran!"

Spider legs flayed out and immediately covered the embarrassed face of the small girl, hiding her from the overwhelming gazes of everyone else present in the room. _'I sort of feel sorry for the little lady . . .,'_ Jigoku thought, looking away.

' _I-I-I-I-I-I-It's my turn!'_ Even before getting off her chair, Suzuran had already started shaking, thoughts of failure and humiliation swarming her mind. _'I-I-I must . . . I must stand . . . bu-but . . .,'_ She peeked out and saw many eyes staring at her but it was the unflinching gaze of Tsukuyomi-sensei, who seemed to have paralysing ability in his haunted eyes, that scared her the most. _'My legs . . . they . . . they won't . . .,'_ She tried to step down from her chair but it was of no use. It was like her lower limbs were frozen.

' _. . . they won't move . . .'_

 _( "UGLY." )_

' _No . . . but I! I-"_

 _( "Why . . . why did it turn out this way?" )_

Tears threatened to spill.

' _I . . . I have to . . . move . . .'_

 _( "Why . . . DID YOU HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING?!" )_

' _I'm sor-'_

"Everyone, look away."

The amethyst-eyed girl stiffened when she heard the icy monotone of Tetsuya Inori speak up.

"Asagumo is probably feeling uncomfortable under all your gazes – look away so she can walk up to the center and perform." Inori was staring straight at the judges' panel, face as expressionless as her voice. Many faces flustered in embarrassment at her tactless words but nonetheless, most of the students did look away – including a grumbling Ryo and Asuna.

"Sorry, Suzu-chan." Hoshi whispered from next to her as Suzuran finally found a semblance of strength to disembark from her chair. "We didn't realise . . . But we won't look now so take your time to walk up there! And best of luck!~"

Filled with newfound courage with the silent encouragement from her classmates, all who were staring at the gym front, Suzuran thanked them all mentally as she slowly made her way towards the towering judges' panel with near-silent steps. _'And thank you so much, Tetsuya-san . . .,'_ She couldn't help but glance at the raven-head for a few seconds.

Mentally strengthening herself and standing in front of three of the top thirty Pro Heroes of the country, the girl bowed low and stuttered out quietly, "G-Good morning." All her spider legs bowed along with her tiny body. Realising her voice was too inaudible, she made an effort to be louder and continued, "My name is-is Asagumo Suzuran and . . . m-my Quirk is called . . . is called . . ."

' _Bring them – the disgusted whispers, the pitiful stares . . .'_

". . . Spider."

But there were no whispers and no stares – only a comforting silence that encouraged her to continue. Raking in a steeling breath, she spoke, "I-It gives me the attributes of a spider. The eight l-legs on my back . . ." They skittered at her words. ". . . a-are a part of it. I-I can also shoot diff-different types of we-webs from my fingers a-and ma-manipul-late them in any way I-I wish." Taking in another deep breath, the girl slowly brought up her fingers and began emitting a translucent, white thread from eight of her digits.

"That's so much like Spiderman!" Kenio's eyes shone brightly as he admiringly gazed at her.

Flushing deeply at the admiration in his voice, Suzuran continued pooling out thread and two of her spider legs quickly shaped them with their tips. "T-The thread can be sticky . . .," two medium-sized balls of thread were launched through the air by the spider legs and one stuck to the front wall while the other stuck to a nearby pillar.

". . . Or elastic . . .," Two ends of a rather thick thread were pulled apart by Suzuran's insect appendages but instead of snapping, they only broadened and soon reached the size of a mat.

". . . A-And even metallic." This time, she created a rather long and comparatively thick thread by mingling several ones until it looked like a white, translucent stick. She grabbed at it with a palm and, with a shaking hand, brought it smack down upon the concrete ground.

A harsh, clanging screech echoed throughout the gym, stinging through eardrums and causing hands to clamp over ears.

Dizzy as the rough ringing bounced around in her head, Suzuran let go of the steel-web pole and wobbled around. "T-Thank you . . ." she muttered, eyes spinning in her head.

As she tried to dawdle her way back to her seat, the rose-haired girl lost her balance and almost fell hard on the ground. But before she could crash, long arms were quick to grab her small frame.

"Woah, careful there, love," Jigoku smirked as he stabilised her on her feet.

Shaking her head rapidly, Suzuran broke out in a heavy blush and skittered a few steps away from the tall boy. "T-T-T-T-T-T-Thank you . . .," she forced out the words with a lot of determination, four spider legs hiding her underneath. Oh God . . . why was her heart thundering against her chest so hard?! And why did Tejina-san have to have such a handsome smile despite his devilish appearance?!

Thankfully, Dark Shadow saved the petite student from her ordeal. "Tejina Jigoku!" it screeched. ' _Only two more students to go . . .'_

"Saving the best for last, I see," the lilac-skinned boy smiled confidently as he strode to the front of the gym. Many of the students were excited to see him perform – Jigoku Tejina, the charismatic Devil-boy of their class.

' _Let's see if he's actually as great as he's hyped himself up as . . .,'_ Kazumi crossed her arms across her chest, eyes narrowed.

"Good morning, this is Tejina Jigoku at your service, here to amaze you all with my magic show." The bow he made was elaborate and exaggerated, something reminiscent of Victorian high society but he pulled it off with such finesse it looked graceful. His words had, however, already caught everyone's interest even before his performance began.

' _A magic show?!'_ Ryo guffawed – although nothing had happened between them yet, he couldn't stand the horned boy. _'This showy bastard and his fucking magic tricks . . .'_

"My Quirk is called Cards, as most of you may be familiar with but instead of explaining it to you, since I find explanations severely boring, I want all of you to enjoy the magic of my Quirk." And with that announcement, he peeled out two cards from his upper arms and threw them in the opposite directions. As soon as they tackled to the floor, a snappy explosion occurred and thick mist erupted from them, shrouding the area where the boy stood.

"Woah!" Cellophane looked thrilled. "I can tell this is gonna be cool!"

"Heh, you're helluva right about that, sensei." Four cards shot out of the mist but before they could touch the ground, colourful lasers erupted out of all of them, further highlighting the place where Jigoku stood. Before anyone had time to rake in their next breath, another card shot out and flew straight towards Creati. However, instead of crashing into her, it settled gently on the desk before her, paper wings attached to its back.

"Please check the card's number, beautiful Goddess, but don't show it to anyone else," his voice echoed from within the grey mist. Rather excited, the black-haired Pro Hero abided – it was the Queen of Hearts.

And once she'd done that, the blood-eyed boy finally stepped out of the mist, his confident smirk unwavering, and walked towards the raised judges' platform. He held out a hand towards Momo and smoothly requested, "Please put the card face down on my palm, Creati-san." She quietly did as asked, eyes as watchful as that of every other student's.

"He doesn't even leave Creati-san, that playboy?!" Reiko pouted, mumbling softly. Kagami awkwardly chuckled when she heard the blonde's words.

As soon as the card came into contact with his palm, it went up in a small blaze of flames. Quickly moving her fingers away, Momo's curiosity and admiration level were on a parallel rise. Incredibly pleased at the expression on her face (and the way his classmates were looking over each other to see his tricks), he brought up his left hand and asked, "Would you please give me your other palm?"

Quietly, once again, she abided. Jigoku caught her fair palm in his slim fingers and put his left hand on top of it, touching skin against skin (completely aware of and enjoying the abashed glares some of his male classmates were throwing his way). As Creati waited, she suddenly felt hard paper make contact with her outstretched palm – and when the teen moved his hand away from on top of hers . . .

Her eyes widened as the Queen of Hearts, _completely intact,_ lay on her palm.

"How?" she whispered – the gears in her brain revved but were unable to find a satisfactory explanation. The card she'd handed Jigoku, the Queen of Hearts, had been burnt the moment it'd come in contact with his palm . . . He must've pulled out a new one, right?! But none of them _saw_ him pull out any other cards from his arms . . . he'd seemingly placed one in her palm from thin air . . .

"Where did the new Queen of Hearts come from?" she couldn't help blurting out the question. "Or should I say . . . _when_ and _how_ did you conjure a new one?!"

The questions only seemed to fuel his grin with more smugness and he threw two more cards in the air – most eyes were caught on the colourful confetti that burst out of them and in those few seconds, Jigoku had created more mist and disappeared into it.

"Is he a ninja or something?!" Aisen exclaimed, searching for him within the grey haze.

Koji seemed to be in deep thought. "A Magician and a Ninja . . . that makes him . . . A MAGINJA!" He flashed a thumbs up in the air, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"Sorry, Creati-san," the said boy appeared out of the mist again and plopped back into his seat near Yasu. "But Rule Number 1, a Magician never tells his secrets." Suzuran, who was sitting right behind him, felt her face grow hot for some reason when she heard his voice. _'H-He's so cool . . .!'_

Momo, although very curious, only smiled back at the boy. "You're right, Tejina-san," she briefly giggled, still holding onto the Queen of Hearts. _'But I'll figure out your secret soon!'_

Tsukuyomi, however, was lost in his own thoughts.

' _The name Tejina . . . that Quirk . . . but surely it cannot be . . .? It's even on his official files . . . Hmmmmmmmm,'_ even as he wrote on the mark sheet, he couldn't get some thoughts out of his head. Eyeing the distinctive teenager, he took note of his unique appearance – dark crimson eyes, lilac skin, the curved horns, the forked tail . . .

' _I'll delve deeper into this later . . . But for now . . .'_

One final student left.

For some reason, as she stood up from her seat, a thick atmosphere of tension seemed to settle into the room. A handful of the students who hadn't been particularly interested in the earlier acts were now watching with unmoving eyes. And if Tsukuyomi said this wasn't one of the acts he'd been looking forward to the most . . . it would be a lie.

' _The daughter of Hercules, isn't she?'_ For some reason, Cellophane felt himself go nervous as the black-haired girl walked up to the gym centre, her footsteps echoing within the wide halls.

' _Show us . . . the Quirk we've heard so much of . . .,'_ Creati stared intensely.

The footsteps came to a stop and silver eyes looked up – cold and emotionless. "Tetsuya Inori," the frosty monotone spoke up. "And my Quirk is-"

* * *

 **ED 1 – No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **(Alright, birthdays are up on the forum!**

 **Thank you to everyone for their constant reviews and encouraging support! Knowing your views on the plot, characters and everything really gives me the fiery passion to write more and more!**

 **Pinky: Is it bad that I've already got about 70 chapters of stuff planned?**

 **Inori: . . . At least complete 10 of them first. -_-;)**


	10. Ch 9 - A Brewing Storm

**OP 1 – Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 – A Brewing Storm**

(?, ?, ? – ?)

From the darkened room at the end of the hallway, he heard viscous chewing.

His steps were calm and languid as he made his way to the room, the sound of teeth grinding against flesh creating a sickening harmony that permeated the quietness of their residence. As soon as his pale hand pushed against the slightly ajar door, the stench that filled his nostrils was revolting. But the blood splatters that stained the floor and nibbles of raw flesh that lay littered around were even more nauseating to look at.

"Please clean up before Master gets here."

She snapped to turn her head towards him at frightening speed, the look in her eyes beastly and vicious. But when she recognised him as her companion, a large smile tore across her lipless mouth. "Ah, it's you!" His eyes watered from the overpowering aura but he gently dabbed at them with a folded handkerchief. Such sights weren't uncommon to him but the pungent odour in the room and the mutilated mess the corpse his 'companion' was feeding on wasn't good for the stomach.

As she turned her attention back to her food and bit out a large chunk from her prey's neck, the man sighed and leaning against the wall, asked, "How were you able to pick him up amidst the chaos, anyway? Creati was already on the scene."

"I knghow," she spoke threw a mouth full of chewed flesh before swallowing it down and continuing, "But I was starving, really! That busty bitch first ruined my kitty party by snatching away my original preys – do you know how tasty teenage girls are?!" He could see saliva dribbling down her blood-stained mouth as her eyes became shadowed by a hazy gaze. "They were so pretty too . . . I'm sure their meat would've been soft, juicy and fresh to taste . . ." Shaking her head to break out of her reverie, she twisted the arm of the corpse and broke it off, biting at the end of the bloody stub. "Middle-aged men are hard to chew but I was hungry so I didn't have a choice."

He sighed, cursing his luck for getting partnered with someone like her. But noticing the time on her pink wall clock, he straightened up and said, "Anyway, I'll be leaving now. So take care of the place until Master comes back. And _please_ clean up."

She nodded vigorously, yelling a "Best of luck!" as he left the room and expertly ignoring the latter part of his sentence. The male sighed heavily once he was out of earshot, running a hand through his short hair. He wondered why his wonderful Master had picked up someone like her for their elite group but once he thought about how powerful her Quirk was, it was fair to understand why they had to put up with all her eccentricities.

He just hoped that the other members – the ones he hadn't met yet – were better.

* * *

(Monday, 25th April, 6:18 a.m. – Tetsuya Residence)

 _( "Ne, Inori?"_

 _He was going to fall, so precariously close to the edge. And she wouldn't reach in time to save him._

" _Let's run away together." )_

Grey eyes fluttered open due to the bright sunlight streaming in through the gaps in the curtains. As the 15-year old rolled onto her back and uttered a low groan, feeling sleep slowly drain away from her eyelids and body, she forced herself to get up, cerise bed sheets sliding off her figure. _'. . . That's right. I have to reach early today.'_

Inori let the drowsiness seep out of her body as she blankly stared outside her glass windows at the front lawn of their estate, where the gardener had already started his work of trimming the hyacinth bushes. Although the gardens were fairly empty for now, summer would soon arrive and in no time, hydrangeas and morning glories would be in full bloom. Since the past few weeks, the temperature was slowly leaning towards warmer and warmer every single day.

Bare feet touched the carpeted floor as the girl stretched her slender body, all vestiges of sleep completely vanishing. "Forget about the nightmares, Inori," she muttered to herself, bunching all of her thick curls into a high bun as she entered her bathroom.

"You can't do anything about what's already happened."

. . . . . . . . . . .

As expected, her father and elder sister were absent from the dining room. Nothing unusual in it at all.

"You're earlier than usual." Ah, if only her mother could somehow disappear as well – but the dark-haired brunette was sitting at the opposite end of the table, sipping tentatively on her glass of orange juice. Even early in the morning, Tetsuya Mizore's chocolate locks sleekly draped over her shoulders, her beautiful face was expertly brushed with make-up and she carefully sipped at her drink as to not lay a single stray drop fall on her expensive magenta dress.

As Inori took her seat and had a steaming plate set out in front of her by one of their various maids, she replied, "I know." _'Should I tell her it's because I have to go through a punishment . . .?'_ It was hard to restrain the smirk that threatened to erupt on her face. Oh, if her perfectionist, beautiful mother knew that her daughter had actually ranked in the bottom of her class's Show and Tell . . .

' _Wouldn't that put her in such a dilemma?'_

Mizore put down her juice and cleanly cut out a slice from her sausage before plopping it in her mouth. Breakfast continued in absolute silence between mother and daughter before the former said, "It was really fortunate that you did not sustain too many injuries in the accident last Thursday. It's all over the news currently – your sister has been put on the investigation case beside Shoto, Tentacole, Earphone Jack and many other Pros but there hasn't been much progress on it." Inori's only reply to that was a nod. A little discouraged, the older woman cleared her throat and continued, "A-Also, Yuzuriha has finally gained consciousness-"

That made the teen look up for the briefest of glances.

"-and the doctors say he will be completely fine by mid-May. It would be nice if Recovery Man could heal him as well, no?" Mizore made an attempt at a smile, meeting eyes with her daughter.

 _( "You're a Tetsuya! This is nothing for you! GET UP!" )_

Inori looked away, dryly replying, "I suppose."

Manicured fingers gripped at the tablecloth underneath. _'Of course, she wouldn't forgive me so easily . . .,'_ But she was not a woman who gave up easily. "How is U.A.?" She asked, a little too excitedly. "Your classmates must have rather strong Quirks, right? Well, I can't say I've ever met teens stronger than Team TENSHI . . . but I bet U.A. has plenty of strong students as well. You didn't tell us much about the entrance exam to-"

Steel eyes stared straight at the dark-haired woman . . . the dark-haired woman who was her _mother._

 _( "Oh no, Inori is plenty strong! She doesn't need any help! She can handle herself!" )_

A harsh screech resounded throughout the room as a wooden chair was roughly pushed back against the marble floor. Mizore flinched at the sound and accidentally dropped her fork.

". . . I'm getting late," Inori mumbled, face shadowed by dark bangs as she trudged out of the room, leaving behind her half-full breakfast plate. Mizore watched her daughter leave with saddened eyes but resigned to the treatment, sliced another piece from her sausage.

"I can't blame her. After all, it is my . . . no . . . _our_ fault."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 _( "Transform."_

 _Scales, as black as the nothingness of death, covered her limbs, cheeks and neck. From her large claws sprouted long talons the shade of freshly spilled blood. Feathered wings, with the same palette as her hair, tore through the back of her P.E. uniform and stretched out intimidatingly. And when she opened her eyes . . . the steel grey had transitioned into a maelstrom of crimson and ochre._

' _Please . . . don't look.' She wanted to cry out._

' _Don't look at me with those fear-filled eyes.'_

 _Shimizu, Asuna, Asagumo, Koji, everyone . . ._

 _Even Kenio . . ._

' _I . . . don't want to be hated.'_

" _. . . That's it."_

 _And just as rapidly as the transformation had occurred, the scales broke away, the nails reverted, the wings slipped back into her body-_

 _When Inori blinked, the crimson and ochre had relapsed back into icy silver._

 _Silence dominated for a few seconds before a chair was pushed back and crashed onto the floor. "What . . . WHAT KIND OF A JOKE IS THIS?!" Asuna growled, glaring hatefully at her. Many students shifted concerned glances at the brunette._

" _Asu-cha-" Hoshi tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder but her palm was harshly slapped away._

" _Are you kidding me right now?!" The twin-tailed girl was fuming with rage, her ears red and her hands clenched as if she was holding herself back. She took a few steps forward but someone had grabbed her wrist and now held her in place. "YOU CALL THAT A FUCKING PERFORMANCE?!"_

 _Hate . . . so much hate. And rage. And regret._

" _Calm down, Asuna," Koji warned her in a grave voice, glancing at Tsukuyomi – the Jet Black Hero looked absolutely unamused._

" _LET GO OF MY WRIST, KOJI," she threatened with murderous eyes. From her palm, tips of a branch could be seen growing._

" _Sit. Down. Nishiya." Tsukuyomi's warning voice caused the brunette to flinch and, much to the relief of most students, the branches reverted back and the girl quietly sat down on her chair, completely stone-faced. Turning to the similarly silent Inori, he calmly asked, "Is that all, Tetsuya?"_

 _She met his gaze, eyeing him quietly for a few seconds._

' _You should understand. You . . . are like me.'_

' _. . . Dangerous.'_

" _Yes." )_

"It's no wonder I was in the bottom three," Inori mumbled to herself, making her way across the vast U.A. grounds. Since there was a bit more than an hour to pass for the commencement of classes, there was no one in sight except for a couple of teachers and a gardener watering the plants in the courtyard. Instead of heading for the main building, she took a right and headed towards the P.E. area, passing by the stump of a dead, roughly hacked tree. _'. . . Fuma did this, didn't he?'_ she gave it a pitying look as she passed by it, faintly hurrying on her feet.

On Friday, the results for the Talent Show had been announced.

 _( "Nakamura Kenio-" the ginger's face lit up with a star-eyed grin, "-Kanashimi Fuma" he simply nodded in reply, showcasing no change in his serious visage, "-Shimamura Reiko" the blonde jumped up from her seat, cheered loudly and had to be settled by a yell from Akaname,"-Nishiya Asuna-" the brunette had her scowl replaced with a smug smirk, "-and Tejina Jigoku," the horned boy simply showcased a smile that said, 'As expected.' Tsukuyomi addressed the students, "There were a satisfactory number of exemplary performances from many students but these five have charmed the Lords of Darkness with their chaotic dances." When the students stared at him in confusion, he cleared his throat and explained, "They showcased the most skill, versatility and creativity in using their Quirks." There were a few faces who looked like they wanted to disagree but he quickly cut them off with, "They truly upheld the value of a 'Talent Show' – while there were impressive shows of strength and Quirk, some students seemed to have forgotten where the essence of a Talent Show really lies."_

 _Kasai's fists clenched under the desk; Kazumi looked calm but her nearby bench-mates could feel a simmering volcano; Ryo looked away in annoyance, clicking his tongue._

" _Congratulations, the five of you," he nodded at them and all the five thanked him in varying tones. "And now," the faint sense of satisfaction in his tone suddenly gave way to sobriety, ". . . the bottom three." The whole class could feel the grave seriousness of their teacher embalm over them like a heavy blanket._

 _Kenio couldn't help worriedly glancing at his black-haired friend. 'Tetsuya-san . . .'_

" _Hanransha Yasu-", the ash blond didn't look the least bit surprised, calmly nodding, "-Yuki Jack" the violet-eyed boy flinched a little in his seat, completely downcast, "-and Tetsuya Inori." While there had been cheers after the five winners had been announced, now there was an almost crushing aura of silence and awkwardness. Koji looked like he wanted to say something but Habiki grabbed his wrist in a vice-like grip._

" _The three of you," but the darkest aura yet emerged from their mentor, "Meet me after classes are over for the day." )_

As Inori creaked open the door to Gym Gamma, she was faintly surprised by a tall, lone figure already dusting away at the remnants of crystal fragments from Ryo's tower. Yasu looked up at the source of the noise and nodded at the girl once. "Morning, Tetsuya-san," he waved at her. The blond was already dressed for the punishment task – white gloves covering his hands, a black apron tied over his uniform, a white kerchief tied over his lower face, pants folded up to his knees and black gumboots for shoes. "You're earlier than I expected," his slow way of speech wasn't very hard to get used to but it caught you off guard the first few times.

' _You're one to speak. . . . How long have you been cleaning, anyway?'_ She did not ask her questions aloud, instead replying a quiet, "Good morning" to him and bunched up her hair in a low ponytail.

 _( "The three of you, as your punishment task, will be cleaning Gym Gamma on Monday." The three students stood near Tsukuyomi's desk in the staff room with Creati standing nearby._

" _T-The whole Gym?!" Aisen squeaked out, confused as to whether he should be elated or horrified._

" _Yes, the whole Gym!" Dark Shadow popped out of his master's back, almost causing the shorter blond to scream with shock. As Tsukuyomi pushed him back, he regarded the students once again. "The cleaning materials will be provided in the gym itself. You three have to reach school by 7:30 and finish cleaning it before classes commence at 9:00 a.m." A crimson eye gleamed warningly at them. "Not a single speck of dirt should be left behind. Understood, disciples?"_

" _Understood," two of the students calmly replied while one of them stuttered:_

" _U-Understood." )_

Once she had donned her own set of dust-proof wear, Inori quietly picked up a large broom and a dust pan and set to work. She had never done anything of the sort before but looking at how expertly Yasu was doing it (he had already removed more than half of the crystal fragments), it couldn't be too hard.

(3 minutes later)

". . . I'm sorry," she whispered almost inaudibly, her head bowed low in shame and her bangs shadowing her flushed face.

He faintly smiled underneath his kerchief as he expertly swept the crystal fragments into a dustpan. "It's okay," his thick voice, although drawn, was gentle. "You should hold the handle with both hands to make sweeping easier," he instructed, handing the raven-head her broom. "Yes . . . place your hands a little higher. Yeah, there. Now, gently, brush the fragments towards the lid . . . good. Now, try to be a little swifter."

As the silver-eyed girl obediently followed his instructions, Yasu couldn't help quietly staring at her. A month ago, he would've never thought he would be teaching Tetsuya Inori, team Tenshi _Tetsuya Inori,_ daughter of Heracles _Tetsuya Inori,_ the art of housework. He wasn't someone with a peaceful background himself but he'd thought that this black-haired, silver-eyed prodigy would be someone more . . . dangerous.

 _Volatile. Harmful_.

' _She's just an inexpressive, quiet teenager.'_ He looked down at the so-feared 'Berserker' who was sweeping away at broken crystal with focused eyes and steady hands. ' _Her Monster form did look quite a bit scary but . . . nothing nightmarish.'_

The door to the gym slammed open and in came a panting, red-cheeked, golden-haired mess. "I'M SO SORRY I'M LATE, GUYS!" Aisen slid in like a professional derby roller but spinning on his heels, lost his balance. "W-W-WOA-!"

Thankfully, before he could break his jaw on the floor or fall into a pile of sharp crystals, Yasu caught him with a single arm. "You're late, Yuki-san," he gently chided as he stabilised the shorter boy on his feet. "Please don't book a trip to the infirmary on top of that."

"T-That move was on purpose! I was . . . I was trying to do parkour!" He coughed awkwardly, cheeks red before making a finger gun at the other two and winking. The olive-skinned boy just blinked at him with deadpan eyes while Inori continued sweeping in the background, completely unbothered with his appearance.

Ten more minutes later, with Aisen's help, the floor was completely clear of crystal fragments. However, mopping was still left and while the quieter teenagers took charge of that, Aisen decided to collect and stack all the plastic chairs in an allotted place. The work went on quietly for a while but the silence was broken by the least expected person.

"Why did they put you in the bottom three, Yuki?" A question – or any sort of conversation – from Inori was so unexpected that it took more than a few seconds for him to realise that she had addressed him with a question. But when he did, he turned to her with shock on his face only to see her staring at him intensely. "I can understand Hanransha," the ash blond continued unperturbedly sweeping the floor, "and I . . . well, it's obvious why I'm in the bottom three. But Kenio and the others told me," those icy eyes of hers threatened to entrap Aisen in their blizzard, "That you performed well." She tilted her head to the left. "Then why?"

"A-ah, that," a shaky smile crept its way on his face. "W-Well-"

 _( "Yuki-san, might I talk to you alone for a few minutes?"_

 _If this were any other situation, Aisen would've probably done a cartwheel in excitement. But right now, when she had been a front-row viewer of his disappointing performance, he wished he could burrow into the ground and stay there forever._

" _Sure!" But he didn't let any of his insecurities show on his face as he took a seat in front of her. They were occupying an empty cubicle in the staff room, well away from the earshot of other teachers. He faintly clenched his knuckles underneath her solemn gaze and the action did not escape the observant woman's notice._

" _Yuki-san." He stiffened as soon as his name left her mouth. "During your performance . . . what happened?" He thickly swallowed, keeping his eyes rooted to the floor and desperately wishing for the ground to split open and swallow him. "You were excited for the first half of the talent show but after Enoshima-san's performance . . . it seemed like it affected you."_

 _Aisen's eyes widened as Kazumi's contemptuous smirk flashed through his mind. He nervously gulped . . . her monstrous lamia form, crushing the crystal structure within her thick tail, was impossible to forget._

 _When the blond stayed quiet with his head bowed, Creati softly sighed. "Yuki-san," even her gentle tone was unable to make him raise his head. "I know what has you so down . . . because I myself went through it as a high school student."_

 _That made him snap up his head. "No way!" he exclaimed, lavender eyes wide with incredulousness. "But you're Todoroki Momo! You're Creati!" She smiled softly at his exclamations. "You're the strongest female Pro Hero of Japan!"_

' _The strongest female Pro Hero, huh?' A decade ago, she would've never had enough confidence to believe she could be that. "I am . . . because I begun believing in myself – in my abilities, in my Quirk. Yuki-san," he turned to stare at the warm hand placed on his small shoulder, cheeks involuntarily flushing – she was after all a beautiful woman and he a teenager in his prime. "There will be a lot of times when you'll meet people who're stronger than you . . . mentally, physically, by experience or simply Quirk-wise."_

 _The challenging battles she had undergone during her first year . . . her disaster sports festival battle against Tokoyami . . . pairing up with Shoto for the mid-term exam against Aizawa-sensei . . . battling Saiko Intelli and her group in the Hero License exam . . . and her greatest rival . . ._

" _But," she opened her eyes, facing the younger boy with full-force determination. "You cannot let yourself be weighed down or overwhelmed by the difference in power. Even if the person you're facing is a beast in terms of combat," she tapped her temple with an index finger, "even the strongest animal has an Achilles' heel that can be exploited. And you have to make sure that you do not let_ _ **your**_ _Achilles' heel be exposed . . . no matter what is."_

 _Aisen quietly listened, un-reactive but absorbing her words._

 _Momo lightly tapped him on the back as she stood up, "Cheer up, Yuki-san. Whatever you did, you did well . . . and next time, when you don't lose your confidence, I'm sure your Shine Burning will truly shine at its golden epitome."_

 _And the radiant smile she showed him was enough to temporarily drive all of his negativities away. )_

As soon as he'd finished recounting the events, Aisen quickly put the last chair away and wiped the forming perspiration at his temple. "I know I'm not very strong and it will take me a while to build my confidence, but," he turned towards the other two, nervously rubbing his nape and awkwardly grinned, "But after what Creati told me, I wanna work harder, you know?" Inori and Yasu were staring at him with completely blank looks, causing the blond to flush. "I-I-I'm gonna double my efforts and try to ketchup soon with everyone else! Y-You guys don't need to look so saucy!"

Slowly, as the two advanced towards him, the boy backed away nervously. "U-Umm, guys?" he unsurely stammered, wondering if he'd taken his puns too far. Yasu raised his hand and, for a moment, Aisen thought the big guy would hit him or something. But instead, a warm, dark hand settled on his golden hair and began ruffling it. "E-Ehhhhh?!" he blushed harder, his face growing hot and scarlet.

' _So cute . . .,'_ Yasu was glad his balaclava covered his lower face as he continued softly ruffling the hair of his weakly protesting classmate. _'I wish I could adopt him as my younger brother and protect him . . .'_

"Yuki." Aisen turned his gaze towards Inori even as his hair was ruffled non-stop. The girl was staring at him with such a sombre gaze that he felt himself grow nervous. "I will support you as a friend . . . so move forward." She flashed him a thumbs up with the same deadpan look on her face.

He stared at the two of them with a wide-eyed look for a few seconds before a happy grin split across his red cheeks. "Thank you, Hanransha, Tetsuya!"

* * *

 **Student Name: Jack Yuki**

 **Quirk: Shine Burning**

 **At first glance, it is a normal flame Quirk but the asset of exuded light gives the Quirk a buff in temperature and power. Aisen can use this to enhance the power of his friends and even buff weapons.**

 **P.S: He is a huge fan of Yu-Gi-Oh and likes assigning his friends an archetype.**

* * *

(Monday, 25th April, 12:56 a.m. – U.A.)

"Inori . . . has become weaker."

The 1-A classroom was empty except for two figures standing near the windows – one had placed her hands on the window sill and was staring out at the figures of some of her classmates enjoying lunch in the courtyard. The other stood with his back leaning against the wall and hands shoved in his pant pockets.

Fuma slightly turned his head towards his old acquaintance and drawled, "You wanted to speak to me about _this_ , Asuna?"

The twin-tailed girl twisted her head and gave him an ugly scowl. "I know you don't feel as nonchalant as you sound, Fuma," she gritted. "And don't you _dare_ tell me you weren't crushed with disappointment when she presented that measly . . . _performance_." Rage and hatred danced behind her magenta irises.

Sighing softly, the boy broke away from his leaning posture and began walking back towards his seat. But after a few steps, he stopped and confessed, "I'll agree, once upon a time, I wanted to defeat her. Beating Inori, my number one rival, was the most prominent thing on my mind." Asuna's nails clenched against the window sill paint, leaving dents. "But . . . there are much more important things, Asuna." He turned to half-glance at her over his shoulder. "Whether she's become weaker or stronger does not hold meaning for me anymore. Her, you and everyone else are merely distractions . . . unless you choose to be obstacles in my way. Then I will completely demolish you." Her glare only intensified at the honest severity that laced his words. "No one has enough time to live in this world so try and focus more on your own self than become consumed by the idea and obsession for competition or revenge."

Complete silence for five seconds before:

". . . Are you fucking with me?"

When he didn't turn back, the pent-up emotions finally exploded from the girl through her weakened mental dam. "You . . . all of you . . .," her voice trembled as much as her shoulders and the grin on her face as she faced him was so twisted that Fuma felt a slight trail down his back. ". . . I'M GONNA FUCKING CRUSH ALL OF YOU INTO THE SAND!" Asuna stomped her right leg on the ground, her fists shaking. "You, Inori, that snake bitch, carrot hair . . . all of you . . . I'LL GRIND ALL OF YOU INTO FERTILIZER! And this I swear upon the name of Nishiya Asuna, upon the prestige of Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady and upon the very foundations of Hero society!"

And having blown off most of her steam, she threw a twin-tail over her shoulder and marched out of the classroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Fuma stood still in his spot for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and walking towards his seat.

"Class is about to start . . ."

* * *

(Wednesday, 27th April, 11:03 a.m. – U.A.)

"But really, it's such a relief nothing happened to you or Asagumo-san during the attack!"

Inori could sense Suzuran's glance on her back as she quietly nodded to Akaname's words. She and the rose-haired girl had a silent agreement not to tell their classmates that they'd been front-row victims of the unknown villain's attack in Shiguna, to spare everyone anxiety. Instead, the black-haired girl had lied that they'd only been held back in the ensuing traffic jam and Suzuran had quietly played along. Of course, everyone had bought it.

Everyone except Hara Habiki.

Fortunately, he was a reasonable and agreeable person and even now, simply quietly nodded along with everyone. He had been concerned about both girls but had agreed to keep their secret, even apologising for unwittingly reading the shorter one's thoughts. _"Don't worry,"_ he'd chuckled, _"I have so many secrets stored in my mind I'll probably forget yours in due time."_

Things had quickly settled in the past few days and the emotional high everyone had been on after the Quirk appreciation test had mostly faded away. However, the synergy amongst Class 1-A seemed to have subtly changed and for better or for worse, the level of competition amongst the students had increased.

"Good morning, everyone!" But the one thing that hadn't changed was the way everyone's faces lit up when the Number 1 Pro Hero walked in to conduct his weekly class of Heroics.

"Dekuuuuuu!" More than half of the class echoed as he waved at them and took his place behind the desk. Akaname was the first to notice that he was not wearing his Hero outfit but a similar-coloured tracksuit.

"Deku, why didn't you come to watch the talent show?" Reiko boldly asked the question that was on many students' minds and received incredulous glances. Inori stiffened in her seat, sudden nervousness choking her up.

"A-Ah, sorry about that, guys," the freckled man offered everyone a nervous, apologetic smile. "But I was caught up with some urgent work."

"Was it regarding the new Villain attack?!" Jobu exclaimed, looking strangely excited for something.

Akaname snapped his head back. "Jobu-san, that's-!"

"N-No, it was something else," Deku cursed himself for stuttering and cursed himself further when he unconsciously began rubbing the back of his head. _'I thought I practiced enough before accepting this job!'_ "I'm . . . not on the investigative team for that case." There were hums and mumbled replies from everyone and Akaname's fierce glare shut up anymore questions about the Shiguna attack.

' _Well, the atmosphere of the class_ _ **has**_ _changed. Ah, I missed the Talent Show – but never mind, I'll make up for it next Friday!'_ The last thought left a happy smile on his face and Inori felt her cheeks grow incredibly warm at the sight, causing her to mask her face with her bangs.

"Shimizu-kun and Nakamura-kun," both boys immediately stood to attention in their seats as the freckled Hero turned to them, "Would you guys please kindly pass out these sheets to everyone in class?"

"Yes, sir!" they replied, still not fully utilised to attention from the Symbol of Peace. They took a stack each of thick, white sheets from him and began passing them out amidst the students.

Haruka disinterestedly picked up the sheet Kenio had given him but his neon eyes were left widened when he saw the writing on it. "This is-" Murmurs had erupted amidst the students as everyone's eyes scanned over the sheets.

"Forms for your Hero suits!" The murmurs exploded into excited chatters at Deku's announcement. "You have to describe your Quirk and all its strengths, weaknesses and hidden secrets in detail so that the perfect Hero Suit can be tailored for you! For those who don't know," he wagged a finger with his explanation, "A Hero Suit is one of the most important identity symbols for a Pro Hero and is their signature costume which they are recognised by! All Hero Suits are perfectly designed to be able to adapt to their wearer's Quirk, cover for its weaknesses and enhance its strengths! In short," it was clearly visible how much he enjoyed explanations, "It's going to be one of the most defining aspects of your career as a Hero so be careful with the form!"

"Fina-fucking-lly!" For a change, Ryo had a smile on his face instead of a deeply carved growl.

"Also," Deku had to raise his voice a little over the furious scribbling of pens, "you can give a brief description of your Suit's design and on the blank space behind, can even draw any personal embellishments and enhancements you'd like!"

"Hmmm," Koji tapped the tip of his pen against his upper lip, "Should there be a heart here or a flower?"

"By when will we receive our suits, Deku-sensei?~" Mashiro asked, smiling widely at the Number 1 Pro.

"By next Wednesday, Mei-san's company should have your costumes ready!" the adult happily replied. "And then . . ."

". . . Next Friday, we'll have Class 1-A's Heroes vs. Villains Simulation Battles!"

All the pens in the room simultaneously dropped on the white forms.

* * *

(?, ?, ? – Tartarus)

The entrance of sunlight was rare in his cold cell. Time was a mystery – knowing whether it was day or night or high noon was an impossible chore.

"High school must've begun for her by now . . .," he mumbled to himself, dull yellow eyes lost in times of the past. Such good times they were, surrounded by his loving family, by his loyal underlings. He wanted to go back in time to those wonderful days – the heady excitement of tearing down his enemies, games of bloody Russian Roulette, the invigorating aroma of cigarettes and gunpowder-

This prison was excruciatingly suffocating in its sterility.

The man, with long, blue curls that flopped greasily to his shoulders, sat on his hard bed and stared at the white ceiling, wondering when he'd be able to roam the streets like a free man again. He listlessly threw his gaze around the room – every single piece of furniture within the white walls was affixed to the floor using the strongest metal. The small, low table that sat in the middle of the room, the bed, the chamber pot, a chair, everything had been firmly implanted to make sure nothing could be easily uprooted.

All these special preparations had been completed in order to combat against his Quirk – even though he hadn't been able to use it ever since his arrest. Curse whoever created the Quirk erasing serum.

As he began nodding off to sleep, the faint sound of echoing footsteps filtered into his ears from somewhere down the corridor. His eyes remained closed as they drew nearer and nearer and finally . . . stopped outside his cell.

' _Is it already time for breakfast . . .?'_ The man cracked an eye open, two black boots usually worn by the guards appearing within his blurry field of vision. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes but froze when he realised that instead of opening the small meal compartment located at the top of the Pyrex door, the guard was accessing the control panel. And after the final 'beep' of the correct button, the door slid open noiselessly.

Now alert, he slowly sat up straighter on his bed, muscular biceps straining. His eyes moved up from the black boots up to the blue pants and jacket the guard donned – the male's face was obscured by his cap's shadow but the name tag on his breast pocket read 'Ichijou', a name the Villain recognised as a young guard who had been working in the infamous prison ever since his admission four years ago.

"Do I have visitors, Ichijou?" He testily asked in a raspy voice – that happened when you did not speak for days and days on end. The shadowed face smiled.

"Very important ones, Fujita-san," was the reply he got but for some reason, Ichijou's voice seemed different . . . deeper than it usually was. Staring at him suspiciously, the sapphire-haired male could sense that something was off but having been registered a Quirk suppressant like all the other prisoners, he couldn't really do much in his current state.

However, after standing there smiling down at him for a while, 'Ichijou' fetched something from inside his blazer's inner pocket and held out his palm in front of the man. The contents he held made the dull amber eyes fly wide open.

"This really is no place for you, Fujita Danuja." With shaking, pale fingers, the prisoner slowly took hold of the items – a single photograph and a small, red bottle whose contents he had a raging idea about.

"Or should I say . . . mob boss Graviton."

One look at the photograph and a strangled gasp escaped him. He let his dry fingers run over the focused person in the picture, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. ". . . Where'd you get this?" Breathless words escaped cracked lips.

The smile on Ichijou's face was sinister. "That does not matter much, does it? What really matters is the offer you have on your plate – the only offer you will ever get to escape Tartarus."

Although he did not like the sound of where this was headed, her smiling photograph was more than enough to fuel his drive. But the only problem was the despicable outfit she was wearing. "What is the offer?" He levelled the guard with an acidic glare. Finally, a pair of eyes was visible from under the cap – crimson, ringed eyes with bloodlust dancing in them.

Danuja gritted, now fully on guard. "You have his face and body . . . but you're not Ichijou."

The guard clicked his tongue and wagged a finger at the man. "Tch, tch, tch. Like I said, these things don't matter." Gesturing towards the vial and the photograph, he urged, "Make a decision quickly, please. We're running out of time." He looked over his shoulder at the opening cell door. Other guards could walk in at any second.

He glanced at the photograph once again. Although the girl in the picture had slightly grown up, it was _her._ She was smiling and talking to another similarly dressed youngster – her blue curls floating upwards, her eyes were the same warm honey he remembered and her face was dotted with soft freckles.

' _It_ _ **is**_ _my beloved Hoshi . . .'_

The grin on Ichijou's face widened as Danuja popped open the cap of the vial and gulped it down his throat in one go.

' _My beloved Hoshi . . . wearing the uniform of that despicable school . . .'_

 _( ". . . Papa? . . . Why are you covered in blood?"_

" _Hoshi, no! We have to leave! HOSHI!"_

" _. . . Where are you going, Rin?"_

" _Stop there! GRAVITON!" )_

' _. . . I can't allow it . . . I_ _ **won't allow it**_ _. . .'_

Suddenly, the furniture in the room began violently shaking and even the Pyrex door began vibrating off its hinges. With his greasy hair floating around like monstrous tendrils, Graviton's eyes glowed sulphur with hateful ferocity.

"Lead me out."

* * *

 **ED 1 – No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **Pinky: Hmm, all of you wrote really interesting theories and predictions for the top 5! :D You guys are amazing!**

 **Kenio: QwQ Everyone . . . thank you so much for believing in me . . .**

 **Jigoku: ;D Thank you, lovely ladies and gentlemen. If the former would like hugs from me, I'd be more than to happy to deliver. Sorry boys but I don't swing that way.~**

 **Pinky:** _ **I want a hug from Jigoku too but I can't act like a pervert . . . -/-**_

 **Fuma: It was only expected for me to be on the top.**

 **Kazumi:** _ **And I can't wait to push you down from your high horse.**_ **But I'm glad to sssssssee that most of the readerssssss are sensible people . . . unlike a certain author who didn't put me in the top 5. *dark aura***

 **Pinky: E-EEP! *hides behind Inori***

 **Asuna: Haah! *points to the readers who voted for her* You Quirk-less normies aren't as stupid as I thought! Maybe I'll even consider shaking hands with you all someday!**

 **Reiko: *does a quadruple spin and jumps in the air* THANKS A FUCKING LOT, MY HOMIES! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT!**

 **Pinky: Well, she's right about that! :D See ya all next week!**


	11. Ch 10 - Heroes vs Villains (Fake)!

**OP 1 – Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – Heroes Vs. Villains (Fake)!**

 **(Wednesday, 4** **th** **May, 7:53 a.m. – Fujita Residence)**

As the blue-haired girl drowsily made her way out of her bedroom and towards the dining room for breakfast, she could hear the blaring of the news reporter on the TV. She and her mother lived in a small yet cosy apartment but due to the thin walls and undersized rooms, you could easily hear sounds from the surrounding rooms.

"The escape of Fujita Danuja, a.k.a Graviton, from one of the topmost Villain prisons in the world is being heavily panned by the public, putting the police and the government under intense criticism. Granted, Graviton was placed in Tartarus' new 'Lower Cell' facility as an experimental subject but the carelessness on part of the security and the improper maintenance of equipment is being critically analysed. Ichijou Touma, the suspect who was caught helping Graviton escape, has been recently released from detainment for reasons undisclosed to the public. However, we may assume that-"

Hoshi switched off the TV as soon as she got hold of the remote. Her mother turned back with a shocked gasp, eyes startlingly widened. However, relief bloomed on her face when she realised it was her daughter.

"Mamma, I've told you to not watch the news, haven't I?" the freckled girl stared at her with a grave expression.

"Hoshi . . . good morning." Hoshi may have inherited her father's sapphire hair and amber eyes but her freckles, round face shape and fair skin were all derived from Rin Fujita. Like her daughter, Rin had a small and thin frame but the fine lines around her eyes had become pronounced over the years, her skin had faded from rosy cream to pale alabaster and her soft cheeks had sunken in.

The dark-haired woman tightened the bow on her apron as she hastily got up from her chair and shakily replied, "I-I was just flipping through the channels and . . . well . . . it just suddenly came on." Going into the kitchen and compiling a plate of breakfast for her daughter, Rin made an effort to be cheerful. "Y-You'll be getting your Hero Costumes today, right? Can't be late then and got to have a good breakfast!" She slightly spilled some miso soup on the kitchen counter but didn't seem to notice. "Take a seat! I'll bring your plate!"

' _. . . Why . . . do you force yourself like this?'_

Hoshi sadly stared at her mother for a few seconds before quietly walking over to her and wordlessly hugging her from behind, burying her face into Rin's bony back. _'She's become even thinner . . .,'_ the 15-year old tightened her slim arms around her mother's slender waist. The woman froze for a few seconds before placing down the plate and becoming completely still and mute. The choking silence, underscored by an air of sorrow and tragedy that permeated the small kitchen, was an entrapping blanket that slowly tightened around both females.

Two warm drops dripped down on Hoshi's bare arms, accompanied by soft whimpers.

"Hoshi . . .," a broken, soft plea escaped Rin. ". . . Don't go . . . please . . ." She turned to look at her daughter with darkly circled eyes, tears flowing in straight streams down her cheeks. She was trying to compose herself, Hoshi knew, trying to hold all the pain, all the hurt, all the fears inside her own overworked body. She had been doing this for so many years, shielding her daughter's eyes from the truth of their blood-stained life, always holding her tight in her arms to keep her away from the beast her father was.

 _( "Why are you trying to leave me, Rin?"_

 _That night . . . mamma's body shook so violently that the little girl was afraid she'd break into a million pieces . . ._

 _Eyes the colour of brutal sulphur stared down at her – where had those warm irises of honey disappeared to?_

" _. . ._ _ **Why**_ _are you trying to take Hoshi away from me, Rin?" )_

As her mother looked at her, there was no sliver of light in her gaze – only an overwhelming terror that had ensnared her whole mind and heart in its claws. "If he finds you" a voice as fragile as porcelain. "He'll . . . he'll . . ."

But her emotions gave away and Rin broke down, sliding down onto the kitchen floor.

"Mamma . . .," the teenager stared dejectedly at her mother, pushing her nails into her palms to bar her own tears. The woman's wails shook her weak body violently but it was so painfully obvious how hard she was trying to compose herself, trying to be strong for her daughter, trying to protect her from the dark past that was trying to grab at them again.

"Don't cry, mamma . . ." Hoshi quietly bent down and pulled her mother's head into her chest, rubbing her back to soothe her tears away. As Rin grabbed her daughter's small shoulders with her weak fingers, the amber-eyed girl placed a gentle kiss on top of her head.

' _You've always been guarding me, mamma. But this time . . . I'll protect_ _ **you**_ _.'_

* * *

 **(Wednesday, 4** **th** **May, 8:11 a.m. – Midoriya Household)**

The wooden chopsticks made a rattling clink as they hit the marbled floor.

"Oh!" Ochako gave a short gasp as she realised her fingers had unconsciously let go of her chopsticks but before she could push back her chair and bend to pick them up, her husband was already by her feet.

"No bending over, Ocha," Deku smiled at her as he walked over to the basin and rinsed the chopsticks before handing them over to his wife so that she could continue her breakfast.

"Sorry, Deku-kun," the pregnant brunette shot him an apologetic smile as he sat down beside her on the table. He kissed her briefly on the cheek.

"I know you've been worried about Graviton's escape but please don't let it affect you so much," the freckled male had an anxious expression and tone to his voice. Ochako shortly nodded and took a bite of her egg roll but the troubled expression never left her face. Sipping his coffee, Deku continued, "Shoto-kun and everyone else has been searching very hard but out of Tartarus, he seems to have disappeared into thin air. And there's no sign of the Villain who helped him escape."

"Someone with a Quirk that can possess other people's bodies, huh?" the brunette sighed, leaning her chin on a cupped palm as she absent-mindedly nibbled at a cheese sandwich.

Although her husband was not on the case and she was on maternity leave, they frequently got information from their friends who were on the investigative team. The suspect, Ichijou, after going through intense probing and cross-examination, had been revealed to be not guilty. He had lost consciousness after some middle-aged female visitor had touched him and had woken up with an intense headache and a feeling of numb emptiness. And by the time he realised he was lying on the Tartarus transportation bridge, he had been surrounded by a number of guards and labelled a "traitorous Villain."

"We know nothing about the Villain's identity and even the female suspect Ichijou talked about, Inoue Masae, described an experience similar to his when a teenage boy accidentally brushed against her on the street." Deku stared sombrely down at his plate and Ochako immediately recognised it as his thinking face. "Although we can safely deduce that their Quirk requires physical contact to activate, we have no clue as to the Villain's **true** identity – whether they're a male or a female, young or old, what their appearance is like, whether they're hiding in plain sight like a normal citizen . . ."

"A Villain who can attack from anywhere and we wouldn't even realise, huh?" Images of a bloody past, filled with deaths and losses, pierced through her mind. Even now, so many years later, she would never forget the harrowing battles all of them had been through, during the Era of Terror. Countless number of times death was only inches away, ready to grab Deku or her friends away from her . . .

Ochako shook her head as a determined expression came over her. "Deku-kun," he snapped out of his reverie at her resolute voice and immediately disliked the expression on her face. "Can I please see the investigative files for this case?"

He was taken aback but a fittingly staunch look bloomed on his visage as well. "Ocha . . . please don't. I won't allow you to." And for a quiet, tense minute, they glared at each other, a silent clash of emerald and umber.

But Ochako's eyes eventually softened. "Deku-kun, please," her soft voice and the way she sweetly took his scarred palm in her warm hands cracked against the wall in his heart. "I just want to take a look at the files – I won't hamper my or the baby's health in any way. **I** am the one who put him in Tartarus and I'm pretty sure if I check, I'll find something . . . a clue." He swallowed hesitantly, the saddened look in her eyes straining against his will. "I won't even leave home . . . I can just ask Kyouka-chan to visit me with them."

The freckled male rolled the word "No" on his tongue, ready to blurt it out.

But this woman . . .

"Deku-kun," she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her chin on his shoulder, her warm breath fanning over his ear. "Please, darling?"

 _CRITICAL HIT._

"I'll send Kota-kun along with Jirou-san, then," he sighed, heavily disappointed in his weak will – how she played him!

Ochako clapped her hands together in joy. "Yay, thank you, Deku-kun!" She buried her head in his chest, pressing her ear over his beating heart. The heart that belonged to her. "I love you, Deku," she whispered, face flushed with happiness.

Placing his chin on the top of her head, he kissed her hair gently. "I love you too," he mumbled into the brown locks. "With all I have."

* * *

 **(Wednesday, 4** **th** **May, 8:48 a.m. – U.A.)**

Even before she had opened the classroom door, from the very top of the staircase, Inori had recognised Reiko's screaming.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The blonde's mouth had widened to an impressive radius as she skated around the room happily, expertly weaving between and around the chairs and desks. She held a richly-textured maroon jacket in her hands. "IT'S EXACTLY AS I'D THOUGHT IT WOULD BE!" she stopped near Habiki and almost yelled his ear off before continuing her skating. "SO FUCKING COOL! I WANNA WEAR IT RIGHT NOW!"

"As expected from one of Japan's top support designers!" Akaname's eyes seemed to be twinkling from behind his glasses and even with an orange surgical mask on, Inori could see there was a wide smile inhabiting his face. "Iida Hatsume Mei's company does splendid work!" His table was littered with green-themed outfits and it was then that the black-haired girl realised what was going on.

' _. . . Our Hero Costumes seem to have arrived.'_

More than half the class was already filled with students and everyone seemed to be fiddling with their new suits, excitement visible on even the quiet and inexpressive ones. The students' who hadn't arrived yet had neatly packed, large black boxes placed on their desks with the magenta logo of the Hatsume Corporation stamped on top. Inori entered into the room and made her way to her own desk, briefly replying to everyone who greeted her.

' _My heart is beating rather fast,'_ she gulped, the only change in her expression being her slightly widened eyes. The black box had a mysterious, seductive glint to it and her fingers itched to run over its smooth texture and rip off the packing tape to reveal what lay inside.

Habiki wrapped the black cloak of his hero costume around his body and tugged at the drawstrings, tightening them. "A perfect fit," a satisfied smile sat upon his pink lips. Fuma was inspecting the material of his martial arts gi and despite his typically lidded eyes and serious expression, his eyebrows had an impressed arch to them.

Excitement rapidly clicked in Inori's mind.

"Ah, Tetsuya-san, calm down!" Akaname cried out as the black-haired girl began aggressively tearing at the packed box with her fingernails, her violent movements a comedic contrast with her completely placid face. "You'll damage your costume that way!" The bespectacled boy approached her and chided, moving his arms around in panic. She didn't even look at him.

"I wanna see, I wanna see~!" Koji bounced towards them, the pink-and-white jester hat on his head bobbing along to his movements. "Is it like the Halloween Frankenstein costume you wore back in elementary school?" His lips curved into their signature Cheshire smile.

' _Tetsuya-san . . . in a Frankenstein costume?'_ Suzuran's brain immediately conjured a picture of chibi Inori covered in green paint and wearing tattered men's clothes. The image traumatised her so much she immediately wiped it away.

"Tch, so fucking noisy," Ryo, unlike most in the room, was sitting lazily on his chair with his attention fixed on his gaming tablet. His box had already been torn open and the contents sorted through.

Jigoku sneakily looked into the emerald-haired male's box and chuckled at the design of his Hero Costume. "Well, with an outfit like that, I can understand why you're not very invested, mate," he commented, a hand placed over his mouth to hide his sneer.

And predictably, a vein popped on Ryo's head and he jumped to his feet, turning to the horned boy with a murderous glower. "You got a problem with my clothes, you thorny piece of eggplant?!" The smile on his face was the mirrored version of a raging, upside down scowl.

Far from insulted, Jigoku took a few steps towards the class delinquent, looking straight into his dark eyes with his own crimson ones. "Don't be mad, Kenshi-kun," as he spoke, both his gaze and voice took on a contemptuous tone. "I understand your pain at not being amongst the Top Five for the talent show but keep your chin up, okay?" With every word the lilac-skinned boy said, Ryo felt his temperature increase by ten degrees. "I will be more than glad to offer you some advice, mate," the shorter boy smirked at him, showing off his pointed canines.

 _CRACK._

"YOU FUCKING EGGPLANT BASTARD!" If not for his faster reflexes, Jigoku would've definitely had an ugly bruise on his face from the powerful punch Ryo threw at him. As it passed merely centimetres away from him, he could feel the potent gust of wind created purely by its sheer force. "JUST CAUSE YOU WERE AMONGST THE TOP IN THAT SHITTY SHOW AND TELL, DON'T GET TOO AHEAD OF YOURSELF!" Ryo's yells attracted the attention of everyone in class and when a crystalline blade started emerging from his wrist, Akaname felt his life span shorten.

"Not this again," Yasu got up from his seat and jogged towards the two boys, leaving his unpacking incomplete.

Kenio and Aisen, who'd been walking to class together, slid open the door only to see the familiar scene of Ryo trying to violently attack another male classmate while Yasu did his best to hold him back. "Man, that guy really needs to take a chill pill," Aisen made sure to whisper in a soft voice – he wasn't ready to take on an already fuelled Kenshi in battle.

When his ginger-haired companion saw who the new harbinger of his rage was, he wasn't very surprised. "Well, this time, I think I know why Kenshi-san's volcano burst," the freckled boy awkwardly smiled.

"KENSHI, YOU BASTARD!" Jobu came running and crashed through between the two boys and straight at his classmate. "YA NEED TO STOP PICKING ON EVERYONE, YA KNOW?!"

"HUH?! WHY THE FUCK AM I THE ONLY ONE BEING BLAMED HERE?!" Yasu, like the superhuman he was, had somehow managed to loop his hands under Ryo's arms and was holding him back. But the boy was still trying to violently kick at the smirking Jigoku. "THIS NARCISSISTIC EGGPLANT STARTED SHIT FIRST!"

"I don't know what Kenshi-san's talking about," the boy looked back at his classmates innocently. "I was just trying to give him some advice as a classmate."

"I DON'T NEED YOUR FUCKING ADVICE!" If he got anymore angry, the veins in Ryo's body would surely pop. "DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME JUST CAUSE YOU MADE IT TO THE TOP 5!"

"Aizawa-san, can you please stop recording this?" Habiki deadpanned at the grinning boy who stood on his table with his camera panned towards the fight.

"You don't know how many views this is gonna get on Instagram, Hara-kun!" came the instant reply as Koji continued moving around to gather different angles.

Sighing, the black-haired boy turned to the other one who was clicking close-up pictures of the squabble. "Not you too, Madou-san."

"Ehhhhhhhh?~" The snow-haired boy pouted at him. "But it's for our precious memories as a bonding class!~"

Habiki resigned himself to his seat as the two boys continued making videos and taking pictures of the row. _'No matter how you look at it, there's no bonding in that . . .'_

"Ugh, can I just fill a transfer application for Class 1-B?!" Asuna grumbled under her breath, shooting disgusted stares at the boys.

Twiddling her fingers, Suzuran sat on the chair opposite hers. "I-I don't think that's possible, Nishiya-san . . ."

"Ne, Kita!" Reiko was one of the few students who looked excited at the tiff happening. "Between Tejina and Kenshi, who do you think would win in a fight?!"

"Eh? W-Well," caught slightly off-guard at the weird question and her friend's sparkling eyes, Kagami had to think for more than a few seconds. "If it's a straight out brawl, then definitely Kenshi-san . . . but in a realistic fight, Tejina-san might be able to trick and outwit him."

Haruka just sat silently on his seat, rock music blaring into his ears through his earphones and his attention focused on an action manga.

"I'm glad to see all of you are so pumped up to receive your costumes."

A dark miasma shadowed the entire classroom as the very familiar voice of their mentor filtered through everyone's ears.

Tsukuyomi stood looming in the doorway, like an Apocalyptic Horseman with his eerily glinting crimson eyes, and Kenshi, Jigoku, Koji and Mashiro immediately froze in their spots. "I hope I get to see such frenzied energy during the simulated war on Friday from all of you, hmm, disciples?" All the boys quietly and robotically made their way to their seats and obediently settled themselves down, gazes rooted to their desks. The Jet Black Hero said nothing else as he sauntered in, Kazumi following close behind and having a hard time controlling her snickers at the dejected faces most of her classmates were making.

The other students also soon filled in after Kazumi's entrance and before Tsukuyomi could begin the obligatory roll call, the last student, Hoshi Fujita, stepped through the classroom door.

Kazumi did not miss the way Tsukuyomi's eyes flitted towards the sapphire-haired girl. _'Hmmm?'_ Since the past few days, the bubbly and kind Hoshi had been off, and the fact had come to the attention of at least half the class. As the small teenager quietly made her way towards her seat, her amber eyes lost somewhere faraway and her lips pursed in a straight line, the lamia couldn't help following her with her eyes. The redhead really did not care much about what had happened to her – after all, it was beneficial to her since the other girl had stopped bothering her with her 'friendship' – but she was the tiniest bit curious as to what kept her so depressed all these days.

However, after Tsukuyomi had finished the roll call, the important announcement he had for everyone caught her full attention. "I'm sure Deku has already informed all of you about the Heroes vs. Villains simulation we shall be running this Friday." There were obedient nods from all the students.

Dark Shadow popped out without warning like usual and spoke, "Let me inform you all kiddos about what the Heroes vs. Villains sim actually is!" Used to his acts and screeches, the students remained more or less unperturbed and focused all their attention on the sentient silhouette.

"The Heroes vs. Villains battle is a class exercise all of you will be participating in and can be considered as a sort of a 'Practical Test' for all of your Quirks. For the simulation exercise, the entire class of twenty will be divided into five groups of four each." Some students, like Akaname, Kenio and Suzuran, were even taking notes. "Each group of four will be divided into two pairs – as you all may have already figured out, one pair will play the role of the Heroes and the other of the Villains!"

Tsukuyomi took over the explanation. "The exact nature and mechanics of the exercise will be explained to all of you on Friday. Make sure to be suited up in your new Hero Costumes and report to Ground C by 10:00 a.m. sharp." His crimson eyes narrowed. "For those who did not do well in the Quirk Apprehension Test, this is a second chance you get to prove yourselves as worthy enough to become a true Hero."

Yasu, Aisen, Ryo, Kazumi, Jobu, Kagami and Inori perked up at the sentence.

' _This time . . .,'_ Aisen's face was filled with determination.

' _. . . I won't . . .,'_ Ryo cracked his knuckles.

' _. . ._ _ **Lose**_ _.'_ Inori's eyes glinted fiercely.

* * *

 **Student Name: Hoshi Fujita**

 **Quirk: Gravity Field**

 **Hoshi can control and emit a gravity field around her which trails after her and can attract various kinds of debris. With enough applied pressure, the debris can catch fire and Hoshi can increase or decrease the force and the radius of the field at will.**

 **P.S: Due to her short attention span and exploratory nature, she is very bad at directions and is prone to getting lost.**

* * *

(Thursday, 5th May, 10:12 p.m. - ?)

The air in the dark building smelled of mould and dust. An overwhelming stench of disuse and abandonment lingered strongly. But the darkly dressed figures that inhabited the shadows in the room contrasted against its lonely image.

A trial of wait and anticipation.

The wait for their leader to return.

After what seemed to be a painful eternity, the only door to the large hall creaked open, old metal creaking in protest to the painful movement of hinges. All the figures in the room tensed and jumped to alertness.

Slow footsteps made their way inside the room.

"Identify yourself before you intrude any further!" In the shadows, several guns were drawn, pointed straight at the figure. The man did come to a still – but his motionlessness lasted for only a few seconds and he had started walking again.

Within a heartbeat, all dozen guns were fired.

The bullets flew at immense speed towards the man, each of them travelling at pinpoint accuracy and with powerful precision. But before they could tear through him and fill him with holes, they crashed to the floor and exploded on contact, many creating tiny craters on the ground while some came to a rolling stop around his feet.

The man continued walking until the only source of light, a flickering bulb in the centre of the sprawling room, threw its muted light on his figure. And when he was finally painted into vision, the figures couldn't stop their jaws from hanging open as a look of admiration and reverence flitted onto their faces.

"Boss . . .," one of the men stepped out of the shadows, taking shaky steps towards the newly entered figure. His fingers unconsciously reached out at the almost unbelievable scene before his eyes.

His boss, the man he'd always worshipped, had been arrested and transported to Tartarus four years ago. Wasn't the news they showcased on television a mere trap? Then was this sight in front of him a mere delusion?

But this man, this figure of awe, was so painfully familiar – merciless eyes of gold, sapphire curls pulled into a low man bun, the brutal smile which had been the last thing countless lives had seen before their bodies had been extinguished. "Good to see you again, Ren," he smiled fondly at the youthful male, his voice flooding in memories and nostalgia. "You have become taller."

"Boss . . .," the young male dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his widened eyes. This man in front of him was older, had paler skin and a leaner body . . . but there was no doubt he was the very same Leader he'd always revered and sworn to follow. "It's really you . . . boss . . .," his voice was on the cusp of bawling as he crawled towards the man and bowed his head, touching the tips of his shiny leather shoes with his forehead.

And at the act of veneration, all the other figures in the room slowly walked out of their hiding place and prostrated themselves before the man, foreheads touching the dusty ground. "Welcome back, boss Graviton," they echoed in unison, all subordinates of the tall man standing in the center of the room.

Danuja inhaled a deep breath and closed his eyes. _'Rin . . . Hoshi . . .'_

"I'm back."

. . . . . . . .

Outside the old, dusty hall, the little girl stood with her back leaning against the wall as she lazily sucked on her strawberry-flavoured lollipop. As she listened to the happy cheers that resounded from within the room, she drawled to herself, "What a good thing for you, Danuja-kun." She took a big bite from her lollipop and crushed the hard candy between her teeth. "I hope you're finally happy that you trusted me."

From under her pink beret, crimson-ringed eyes stared at the glittering city that lay beyond the broken, dirt-stained windows of the old building.

"And now that we've helped you, it's time to fulfil your end of the bargain."

* * *

(Friday, 6th May, 9:53 a.m. – U.A.)

A chilly breeze blew through Musutafu.

The golden sun rays flashed upon the group of twenty teenagers, the prodigious Heroes-in-making, as they strode towards Tsukuyomi and Deku. The latter had a proud smile on his freckled face as he gazed at the determined faces of the young fledglings who would one day take over the reins of their society's future.

' _All of them . . . are gonna be amazing Heroes! I can see it!'_

As soon as she'd spotted her olive-haired idol, Inori had felt her face grow hot and her legs turn wobbly. _'D-Deku?! B-But why is he here? I didn't hear anything about this!'_

"All of you look very good in your new Hero Costumes!" The Symbol of Peace flashed the youngsters his famous heart-wrenching smile and half of the students felt their hearts bump against their ribcages at the compliment.

"Deku will be watching over all your battles along with me today so make sure to not embarrass yourselves in front of the No. 1 Pro Hero." The said man nervously laughed at Tsukuyomi's blunt sentence but for everyone else, the nervous knots in their stomach had only doubled.

' _Talk about pressure!'_ Kenio clenched his white-gloved hands, his lips twisted with anxiety. _'I felt somewhat confident during the Talent Show but my stomach just won't stop hurting this time!'_

' _Mother, father, onii-san . . . I won't let any of you down.'_ Fuma exercised his fingers, his body itching to jump into action.

Kazumi silently sniffed the air. _'Ah . . . nervousness, fear, anxiety . . .'_ Her tongue quickly flicked out and brushed against her lips. _'Everything is perfectly set up for me to_ _ **reduce to smithereens**_ _under my tail.'_

Aisen chanted repeatedly to himself. "You can do this . . . you can do this . . . you can do this . . . Don't let Creati's words of encouragement go to waste!" But shakily, his lavender eyes flickered to Kazumi's back. _'I just hope . . . I'm not pitted against_ _ **her**_ _.'_

"Before we start," Tsukuyomi had singled out five individuals with his gaze, "I want the Top 5 of the Quirk Apprehension Test to step forward and face their other classmates." Although confused, Kenio, Jigoku, Reiko, Asuna and Fuma did as they were told. "You five are going to be the leaders of the Hero pair – so choose one classmate each as your Hero partner." Their eyes lit up with happiness at the announcement and Reiko exclaimed an unabashed cheer. "Shimamura, you go first."

"Okay!" The blonde nodded and took no time to call out her partner. "Kita, you're my teammate!"

Kagami, although caught a little off-guard, nodded hesitantly at her and stepped towards the blonde. Reiko immediately proceeded to hug her friend and announced they'd definitely win.

"Kanashimi, you next."

Fuma's lidded eyes took a long time searching through the crowd of somewhat overwhelmed students before resting on the figure he'd decided. "Itou-san," he emotionlessly called out and Haruka gave a short nod before walking towards the jade-haired boy and coming to a still beside him.

' _E-Eh?!'_ Aisen broke into a cold sweat. _'This team-up is unfair! They're gonna obliterate_ _ **anyone**_ _who's in opposition!'_

"Tejina, it's your turn."

"Hmmmmm," Jigoku drawled out a hum as he let his crimson-gaze rove over the remaining thirteen students, a smirk crowning his pale lips. Kenshi's vein popped at the amused look on the horned boy's face. "There are quite a number of talents among all of you but since I get to choose only one . . .,"

His lips quirked up even more. "Tetsuya-san, if you would please," he playfully winked at her.

' _E-Eh?!'_ Kenio couldn't help but let his jaw drop as he watched the raven-haired girl wordlessly walk up to Jigoku. "It's going to be a pleasure to be able to work along with you," he could hear the fanged boy purr at her as she nodded at him. _'W-Why Inori-san?! . . . I wanted to choose her . . .'_ For some reason, Kenio had a momentary, unpleasant twinge in his heart.

But Tsukuyomi had already called out the next student. "Nishiya, go ahead."

Asuna was quick to make up her mind. Pointing at the most shocking choice, the brunette yelled, "Kenshi-san, you're in my team! Make sure to keep up with me!"

Everyone was stunned into silence for a few moments before the full weight of her words hit Ryo and he growled at her, "Who the fuck do you think you're demeaning like that, you flower brat?! My crystals can break through your plants in one hit!" But despite grumbling, he sauntered to her side and in another surprising move, Asuna kept quiet despite being chided.

Kenio did not need Tsukuyomi to call out his name since he had decided his choices long ago. _'Even if I don't have Inori-san . . .,'_ he glanced at the quiet girl, "Yuki-kun, please be in my team!" The freckled boy called out to his smaller friend.

Looking abruptly surprised, the blond pointed to himself. "M-Me?!" he sputtered, before asking in a softer voice. "Are you sure, Nakamura?"

' _After all, I ranked amongst the bottom three . . .'_ The bitter thought wouldn't stop haunting his mind.

"Please, Yuki-san!" Kenio stared at him earnestly, vermillion eyes bright and honest. "I'm sure together, we can win!"

Gulping and feeling many eyes hovering on him, Aisen was hit with the familiar feelings of anxiety and nervousness that had plagued him during the Talent Show and caused him to give up halfway through his performance. But remembering the vow he'd made in front of Inori and Yasu, and feeling a familiar, piercing gaze on his back, he swallowed all his fears and grinned at Kenio. "We're gonna kick two birds with one stone!" he exclaimed as he jogged up to the ginger and they exchanged hi-fives.

Kazumi couldn't help the amused smile that crept on her lips. _'Two delicious little cupcakes . . . all they need is a little bit of frosting . . .'_

Aisen slightly shivered as he noted the smirk on his maroon-haired classmate's face. _'I-It's gonna be alright!'_ he tightly clenched his fists, trying to still his shaking body. _'The chances of facing her are a 1 in 5 . . . Besides, Nakamura's with me! He was in the Top 5! With his animations and my light buffs, we can win!'_

"Why didn't anyone select me?!" Koji found himself quietly whining as he wrapped his arms around his torso and wiggled his body. "Ah, the fading appreciation for humour and comedy in this bleak world is so sorrowful – Alexa, play No More Tears Left To Cry!"

"~Ain't got no tears in my body . . . I ran out, but boy, I like it, I like it, I like it~," Mashiro softly hummed along to his request, rubbing the shoulder of the fake-weeping boy.

Habiki awkwardly chuckled at both of them. _'I really,_ _ **really**_ _am scared of what would happen if these two were to pair up . . .'_

"Alright, alright!" Deku clapped his hands to settle down the chattering students. "Now that the Hero pairs have been chosen, it's time to choose the Villains! First up . . .," tapping a finger against his chin, the freckled adult searched through the crowd. ". . . Madou-kun and Hara-kun!" The monochrome haired pair looked up before turning to each other – Mashiro's mouth tore in a wide smile when he realised he was partnered with Habiki. "Both of you will be facing Shimamura-chan and Kita-chan as the 'Villains'!"

"We won't let you boys win!" Reiko pointed a challenging figure at them as they walked up to the front of the crowd.

"It's nice to see you so excited, Rei-chi, but this time, I'm afraid, the Villains are gonna take the cake~," Mashiro light-heartedly grinned at her, with a stiff and pale Habiki trailing beside him.

' _On the other hand, I wish he and Aizawa had been paired up . . .'_ The silver-eyed boy felt like he had hammered his own feet.

"Itou-kun and Kanashimi-kun will be facing . . ." Deku's furrowed eyebrows and burnished eyes gave away how seriously he was taking the match-ups. ". . . Koji-kun and Fujita-chan!"

Fuma's eyes flew open just as a mischievous, predatory smile lit up Koji's face – Haruka merely quirked an amused eyebrow while Hoshi had to be prodded to realization by Suzuran. Her face was listless as she silently paced after her loud partner. "Let's both do our best, Fuma-kun!" Koji beamed at his childhood friend – but only Fuma noticed the dark look that hid behind the friendliness of his black eyes.

"Now, for Tejina-kun and Tetsuya-chan . . .," Inori wanted to rip the butterflies in her stomach that fluttered at the way her name rolled off Deku's tongue. "Ah, I know!" Akaname felt those dazzling emerald eyes rest on his face. "Shimizu-kun and Hitori-kun will be facing you both!"

' _W-What?'_ Akaname's tapered eyes widened behind his glasses as panic seeped into him. Throwing a side glance at Kasai who looked every bit as startled as him, he felt his teeth grit together. _'It's bad enough I'm a Villain . . . but to be partnered with_ _ **him-**_ _'_

When both boys did not budge, Tsukuyomi growled, "Is there a problem, Hitori, Shimizu?"

Kasai nervously stared at his teachers, briefly glimpsing at Akaname. He was aware that the bespectacled boy didn't really favour him much. But before he could ask if a partner change was possible, the taller male stepped forward and said, "No, not at all, sensei." When he turned to look back at the blue-haired boy, his glasses shadowed his eyes due to their sunlight-induced glint. "Let's do our best, Hitori-san."

As they walked to join the rest, Kasai knew just how much effort speaking that sentence had taken for him.

The fourth pair was quickly decided. "Jobu-kun and Asagumo-chan will be facing Nishiya-chan and Kenshi-kun!"

Suzuran almost felt her legs give away from under her as the silver-haired boy standing in front of her cracked his knuckles. "Hah, two of my 'favourite' people!" In an almost violent contrast to his shaking partner, Jobu didn't have the slightest trace of anxiety visible on his face. "I couldn't have asked for anything better, ya know?!"

Ryo bared his teeth, sadistically grinning at him while Asuna just stared disappointedly at her opponents. "You'll finally taste my crystals down your throat, you cheap Real Steel copy," the emerald-haired boy hissed.

"I can't wait to make you taste a **REAL** punch, Crystallina." Poor Suzuran looked incredibly small and out of place amidst the three intense individuals, her eyes looking like they'd tear up any second as she tried to stabilise herself on her shaking legs. Even her spider appendages were shivering.

' _I'm doomed.'_ Asuna, Kenshi and Jobu with her stuck in the middle. _'I'm done for.'_

But there was another person in the group who was at least as shaken as her . . . if not more.

Aisen felt himself freeze as everything around him slowly began fading from his vision. "Ssssssso that leavesssssss me and Hanransha-san against Nakamura-san and Yuki-san, I sssssupposssse?" His dear classmate, Enoshima Kazumi, had a lovely smile gracing her beautiful face.

Even Deku looked slightly troubled. "Yes, for the last group, Enoshima-chan and Hanransha-kun against Nakamura-kun and Yuki-kun." Nevertheless, it was apparent that there would be no changes in the matchups.

Aisen wondered if it was too late to pretend to be sick.

"Now, as to the rules and the mechanics of this Simulation!" Deku announced, finally getting to the best part.

"Let me first inform you about the structure of the Simulation site – Ground C has been fashioned as a high-end, five-storied shopping mall complete with replicas of inside-stores and automated puppets which will act as 'hostages.' Yes, this simulation is titled 'Mall Hostage' and is a race against time between the Heroes and the Villains to respectively save and kidnap as many hostages as they can." The students gulped as most of them realised the intensity of the exercise.

"There are a total of 55 hostages in the mall and each are of five types – babies, kids, teenagers, adults and the elderly. All types have varying difficulty levels and, similar to your entrance exam, have a different amount of points corresponding to how easy and or how difficult it is to save them. It is safe to say that the team with the higher points will obviously win."

' _So the babies and the elderly are gonna have higher points compared to the adults or the teens,'_ Kazumi deduced. _'Easy enough.'_

"Although they're merely automatons, they have the frailty of a normal human so be very careful while handling them. Rough handling and inappropriate behaviour _will_ affect them and we'll be carefully monitoring everything from behind the scenes." Growing a bits serious, Deku continued, "The Villains will have a deducted amount of 30 points for accidentally 'killing' a hostage . . . but if a Hero team kills a hostage, you automatically fail."

The ten 'Heroes' were suddenly burdened with the heavy weight of responsibility that crushed their shoulders.

"The hostages have been randomly placed in different parts of the mall which has two exit doors, at the back and the front respectively, and an emergency exit staircase that runs along its left outer wall. It also has a rooftop and a car parking basement so if you include both of them, there are a total of seven floors. The Heroes will take their hostages to a distance of at least 50 metres away from the mall while the Villains will pile them in their escape vehicle which is parked at a closer distance to the mall."

' _No matter how you look at it,'_ Kenio found himself unconsciously gulping. _'It's more difficult for us.'_

"A quicker way to win the exercise would be for one of the pairs to knock out the other." Some ears perked up to the statement. "For each defeated Hero or Villain, the opposing team will receive a total of 80 points. However, if the pair with more points is completely knocked out, the other team will automatically win. So combat is avoidable but preferable."

Mashiro licked his lips. _'This is gonna be so much of chaotic fun!~'_

"And, as a final note," Deku nodded towards everyone, "If all of you are not out of the mall within twenty five minutes, the hydrogen bomb the Villains have placed on the rooftop will go off, killing everyone inside and nearby." Several eyes widened at the twisted addition. "So make sure to save as many people as you can and as quickly as you can!"

The students immediately broke into hushed chatters amongst themselves, faces filled with exhilaration but also nervousness. For the budding Heroes, this was the first Hero-like assignment they would embark on enrolling in the prestigious U.A.

"After a ten minute rendezvous, Team 1 will immediately move to Ground C." Reiko, Kagami, Mashiro and Habiki immediately stood to attention at Tsukuyomi's words. "Shimamura and Kita will take the back exit while Madou and Hara will take the front. After the initial entrance, you can use whichever door you like to exit and enter the building the other times." They nodded obediently.

"We can win, Kita!" Reiko threw an arm around the turquoise-haired girl, face full of confidence.

Kagami smiled back and nodded at her, staring at the two boys who were their rivals. _'Thankfully, we have gotten off easier than many of the others.'_ Despite their relaxed postures, Mashiro and Habiki seemed to be having an intense discussion. _'I'm positive the two won't approach me because of my Quirk so, most probably, it's gonna be a race against time in the end. And with Reiko's speed . . .,'_ The normally composed girl couldn't keep off the smile on her face. _'I know we can do this!'_

Habiki glanced at Kagami but said nothing, focusing more on the plan he was building with Mashiro.

And somehow, the ten minutes had passed away in the blink of an eye.

The large gates that had hidden Ground C from the students' eyes slowly pulled away to reveal a miniature version of the South Musutafu mall but it was still a looming building with its six-tiered height and sprawling breadth. The hostages could be anywhere in the large building.

"Remember, no combat until your first entrance into the building!"

Reiko's skates jutted out of her ankle, elevating her several inches in height, while the other three took on running positions, knees bent and bodies leaning forward.

Deku shot his raised arm down in tandem to Tsukuyomi's yell.

"Team 1, go!"

* * *

 **ED 1 – No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **Pinky: Ehehehehe, I completely changed Inori's costume from what was posted on her OC form!** _ **Since I had no idea what I wanted as her Hero Costume back then . . .**_ ***nervously laughs***

 **Inori: . . . I like this better though. *stares down at her costume***

 **Pinky: / I know, right?! You look like a cool Prince in this!**

 **Inori: -_-; Prince . . .? I sound like some perverted cross-dresser if you put it that way** _ **. . .**_

 **Pinky: *w* Talking about cross-dressing . . . WHO WANTS TO SEE AISEN, HABIKI, MASHIRO AND KENIO WEARING CUTE MAID OUTFITS?!**

 **Kenio: WHA-**

 **Habiki: O_O; . . .**

 **Aisen: NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO-!**

 **Mashiro: Hmmmm . . . It doesn't sound too bad of an idea . . .**

 **Pinky: Thank you so much to all the lovely readers who share their wonderful and interesting opinions through reviews and favourite and follow my story! QwQ You guys are the BEST!**


	12. Ch 11 - Hostages at the Mall!

**OP 1 – Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 11 – Hostages At The Mall!**

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 10:08 a.m. – U.A.)**

' _They're superior to us in terms of speed, teamwork, manoeuvrability and on top of that, Kita-san has the perfect capture Quirk. In a battle of speed, Shimamura-san is amongst the top in our class – so we definitely cannot win in an all-out race. Also, going anywhere near Kita-san is a death toll so close combat is also a big no.'_ The hood of Habiki's poncho jiggled against his nape as he ran after Mashiro, watching Kagami and Reiko disappear behind the mini mall. Although his ivory-haired teammate was unusually quiet, there was no sense of nervousness or under-confidence in him.

Habiki was reminded of the Talent Show from two weeks ago and Mashiro's gut-wrenching act of pushing out his ribs to create the horrifying skeletal armour. _'To tolerate such an intense level of pain to the point he fainted, there's no saying what levels of recklessness he can reach.'_ They dashed through the main entrance and finally entered the expertly replicated but scantily furnished building. Mashiro gave out a low whistle as his black-haired partner warily looked at him. _'The only way we can win is if we exploit our advantages as the Villain team and somehow, manage to trick the both of them into defeat before they can secure a fast win.'_

The first two targets were easily spotted by the boys – a teenage son and his mom who stood beside the small fountain near the mall entrance. They resembled mannequins made of lightweight material and both mother and son shrieked in a low voice when the duo of 'Villains' approached them. "Ah, help, help" the woman cried out in a robotic, emotionless voice before Mashiro clamped a hand over her mouth.

"~Ehehe, sorry ma'am, but please co-operate with us if you value your and your son's life." The smile Mashiro flashed her was a twisted grin and following in his footsteps, Habiki did the same with the taller teenage mannequin who cussed at him in his monotone.

As the two rushed outside the mall and towards the glinting white van that stood only about a hundred metres away, Mashiro called out, "Ne, Habi-chi.~" When the shorter boy uttered a brief response, he continued, "Don't you think we're both rather alike?"

Quickly shoving both mannequins inside the van, Habiki took a while to test the accurate words on his tongue. "What makes you think so, Madou-san?" he asked in a gentle, composed voice as they rushed back towards the mall. Reiko and Kagami could win any second so there was no time for reprieve.

"Hmmmmm . . .," Mashiro drawled out a hum as they ran inside the mall again – Habiki tapped the boy's hand and pointed to a staircase in the far-off corner which would probably lead to the basement. As the two boys ran to their next destination, they kidnapped a middle-aged janitor on their way. "To put it simply . . . you could say we're akin to two sides of the same coin."

The car parking basement was wide and open but there was no sign of the two girls – Habiki sighed in relief and signalled a thumbs up for safety before they could move into full view. "It's interesting you feel that way but I've never really thought about our relationship so deeply," he turned to smile at the boy over his shoulder as they made their way towards their next targets.

A young couple with a baby. Bingo.

"Please don't hurt my baby." "Do anything you want to me but let my wife and child go." "Waah, waah, uwaahhhhh . . ." The automated voices were getting annoying – couldn't U.A. have put some effort in simulating tones that sounded a little more natural? _'But no matter how you look at it, that_ _ **would**_ _be asking too much . . .'_ Armed with two hostages each, both Villains traipsed up the winding staircase of the parking lot as quickly but as carefully as they could. Specially Habiki – even the tiniest bit of pressure could set off the 'baby' he was carrying into tearful wails. Thankfully, the mannequins were only of a medium heaviness.

Mashiro remained quiet as they walked out of the basement, up the stairs and towards the van and the relative peace gave Habiki some time to think about what the white-haired boy had just said. He was a cheerful and friendly person, albeit very unnerving more than often – and maybe it was because of the unusualness of his eyes, with the abyssal black sclera and frosty white irises, that the he always found himself stripped naked under Mashiro's gaze. Having survived three years of middle school with Kenshi Ryo, Habiki was no stranger to violence or brutality, but there was something strangely barbaric about his teammate, something deep-rooted in its insanity that even _he_ couldn't get a stable, accurate reading on the boy.

As they piled their other victims inside the van, the taller of the two wiped off the thin trail of perspiration from his forehead and mumbled, "At this rate, we're gonna lose soon enough."

Habiki found himself sub-consciously agreeing to the statement. Till now, there had been so sign of either of the two girls – he knew them well enough to deduce that both would be working mostly together with thin chances of separation. Or, at least, be at a safe distance where they could regroup easily at the slightest sign of danger. Reiko was fast enough to save double the number of targets as them in the limited time and she had an extra pair of hands from Kagami who was equipped with the perfect capture Quirk and could render both of them immobile with one touch.

With Mashiro's strong but slow Bone Manipulation and Habiki's non-combative Mind Break, there was almost no chance for them to win – whether in a mere speed battle or close combat.

"Habi-chi," although he still uttered the childish nickname, the tone in Mashiro's voice was far from whimsical. "You're one of the smartest in our class, right?" There was an almost wild gaze behind the curtain of composure in his eyes as he towered over the much smaller Habiki. "Could you start being useful and maybe think of something better, ne~?"

He didn't know what was more piercing – the corrosive words or the tight smile that spread over the pale boy's face.

But Hara Habiki had a considerable amount of mental strength when compared to his diminutive, fragile-looking figure.

Raking in a silent breath and structuring his words carefully, the raven-head spoke, "Actually, there is a way we could beat the girls and take the match home." Ah, and here was the convincing part – he had always found swaying people easy but with Mashiro, you never knew what was going on in the chaotic labyrinth of his mind. "But we'll have to wait for the last few minutes to pull off this plan and collect as many points as we can till then." Although there was a smile on the other boy's face, his eyes were penetrating and disbelieving. "It is a highly risky but an excellent plan, Madou-san, one which requires accurately timed stunts and letter-detailed actions." _If he doesn't get convinced by this, then we're as good as doomed . . ._

Plastering one of his most charismatic smiles, peppered with a little bit of a challenging smirk, Habiki commented, "But then again, what is a fight without a bit of risks?"

And when Mashiro's eyes brightened with exhilaration and the grin on his face tore halfway across his cheeks, the raven-head knew he had hit the nail on the head.

Grabbing his classmate's hand, the snow-haired boy rushed through the concrete pavement and into the direction of the mall. "You understand me, Habi-chi!~ Don't worry . . . we're gonna show them what _true_ chaos is!~"

* * *

"As expected, Shimamura and Kita are saving civilians at an impressive speed."

Deku and Tsukuyomi, along with the other eighteen students, stood in the dimly lit CCTV room that showcased a direct broadcast of the simulation happening in Ground C. With around sixty cameras that covered the grounds of the mini mall expansively, the students watched with alert and unmoving gazes at their four classmates while many of them continued to discuss their own upcoming plans.

' _It's a good thing we're going last. We need all the time we can get.'_ Kenio turned to look at the fearful Aisen who sat beside him, his lavender eyes frozen wide in terror and his legs slightly shuddering with horror. Across the room stood Kazumi and Yasu – although one was known to be an egotistical loner and the other a fairly quiet boy, they seemed to be discussing their own strategies in soft tones. The ginger would've liked to do the same but . . .

' _. . . First, I need to somehow calm down Yuki-kun.'_

"Shimamura-chan may have chosen Kita-chan on a whim as she's her close friend but unconsciously, she's created a rather solid team-up," Deku commented as he watched the battle on screen with glued eyes. Within the first fifteen minutes, the girls had already stacked up a roster of an impressive 140 points. "With the former's speed and the latter's one-shot Quirk, it's going to be tough for the other two to go up against them – since one has a non-combative Quirk and the other cannot do much outside of close combat."

Habiki and Mashiro, although keeping up a good pace, hadn't even collected half the amount of points as their opponents.

"Shimamura can be hyper and rough at times, like when she roughly handled the baby target, but Kita is composed and wary so the equilibrium between their personalities and values is more or less balanced." Even as they spoke, both girls were transporting an elderly citizen and a teenage girl to the safety distance outside the mall. "Plus, due to their good rapport, teamwork and communication between both of them is smooth and understanding."

The olive-haired male nodded in agreement. "But for the other two . . ."

In his excitement, Mashiro accidentally tore off the arm of one of their targets and it took Habiki quite some effort to get his teammate to leave behind the wired, light-weight appendage and search for newer targets. Sweat-dropping, Deku sighed, "Madou-kun and Hara-kun look like they're just being able to barely understand each other. If things proceed at the same rate, it's going to be very difficult for them to put up a fight."

Kenshi stood a distance away from everyone else, leaning solitarily against a concrete wall, but was carefully listening to the exchange between both teachers. _'Hah, you've got everyone fooled, haven't you, Hara? But_ _ **I**_ _know you're not the weak, girly bastard you appear to be, you faker.'_

' _You always have some trick up your sleeve, don't you?'_

* * *

' _Things are going well.'_

Kagami's stamina was slowly running out but she forced her burning legs to keep pace with her blonde teammate who effortlessly glided up the staircase by using the parallel slope to skate.

' _Things are going_ _ **too**_ _well, actually.'_

On the upper floors, both girls had quickly found a slew of citizens to save and fetched a rather hefty number of points by their quick teamwork and non-stop movements – although that had left Kagami panting and slowed down her overall speed, she was sure they were rather ahead of their opponents when it came to points. The only obstacle so far had been Reiko's initial rough handling of a baby mannequin but with some careful words of guidance, she'd managed to calm the wailing robot down so that they wouldn't lose any points.

' _Accidentally kill a citizen and we automatically fail.'_ She kept on repeating the words in her head like an important mantra.

"There's no sign of the boys yet, huh?" Reiko's lower lip was stuck out in disappointment as she skated around the empty fourth floor. The upper floors had been almost completely evacuated of any citizens and with only ten minutes to go, the girls were only doing a check-up routine to stack up on many extra points as they could. You could never be too safe.

"It's unlikely they'll approach us, anyway." Kagami's words weren't spoken out of over-confidence but merely out of a feeling of self-assessment. Reiko pivoted around on her heels to face her friend, effortlessly skating backwards with her hands clasped behind her back. "Madou-san may be formidable in close combat and Hara-san may be able to read our movements and counter-attack them – but in this particular exercise, where I can just incapacitate both with a touch, they cannot really use their Quirks."

' _Eh, aren't I being a little too confident?'_ Even as the words left her mouth, she inwardly chided herself for sounding slightly contemptuous. She'd never even thought she would be able to pass the entrance exam for this prestigious school and here, she was performing much better than she could've ever imagined herself to.

' _I wonder if Jobu's watching this . . .,'_ She couldn't help wryly smiling to herself.

But when she saw Reiko goggling at her with wide eyes, she sputtered out, "W-What happened?"

The blonde's face quickly morphed from incredulousness to a look of sheer exhilaration. "That's the way to go, Kita!" She buzzed over to her friend and clasped the girl's gloved hands in her own as she towered over her. As Kagami blinked at her with surprise, Reiko explained herself, "It's just that, you've always been on the quieter and shy side so seeing you so full of confidence makes me really fucking happy!" She threw her arms out and spun around, long ponytail trailing after her like the golden tail of a nine-tailed fox.

But that made both girls completely unaware of the two pairs of eyes that were watching them from a hidden distance.

' _. . . They underestimate us so much that they're not even checking their surroundings? Well, I still have to thank Shimamura-san and her loud voice for helping us track them down, though.'_

Watching as her friend happily spun around in the empty building, Kagami composed the smile on her face and said, "Alright, Shimamura-san, I think it's time to go now." Both turned their gazes towards the large clock attached to the central pillar of the room – four minutes remaining until the bomb went off. "You can celebrate after we get back."

But for some reason, the turquoise-haired girl felt an unpleasant twinge in her chest. _'What is this bad omen I'm having?'_

"You're still calling me Shimamura?!" Reiko skidded to a stop and angrily pouted at Kagami before throwing an arm around her neck. "It's Reiko, Kita! Call me Reiko!"

"Okay, okay, Reiko-san," she threw her arms up in surrender as both girls made their way towards the staircase, Kagami walking faster. "Let's hurry up – I don't want to fail just because we couldn't escape in time." For some reason, a bead of sweat rolled down her temple and escaped into the neckline of her grey jersey.

"Yes, yes!" Reiko drawled out, small shoulders relaxed. "But mou, I really wish Madou and Hara had at least approached us! Such a game of hide and seek is for cowards!"

"Don't say that," Kagami bit her lip nervously, confused as to why she was suddenly feeling so anxious. A glance at the clock and it showed a little under three minutes for the bomb to set off. "You're gonna jinx us."

It was then that the blonde realised the tensed edge in her friend's shoulders. "Hey, Kita, relax!" She tapped her comfortingly on the shoulder. "It's over no-"

And through the middle of her sentence cut the sound of running footsteps.

"Madou-san, now!"

Kagami was thrown into a nervous panic but Reiko moved faster as she whipped her gaze over her shoulder, just in time to see the figures of both Mashiro and Habiki moving towards them at a dangerously fast pace. She was caught off-guard by the maniacal grin on the former's face and froze stiff for a few seconds but when a twisted, bony scythe loomed in front of her, she was brought back to her senses.

"I WON'T LET YOU!" The blonde cried as she took off on her heels, charging at the boy as the other girl slowly processed what was happening.

But when she was only a few meters away from Mashiro, her mind was plagued by a vicious flurry of nonsensical words.

' _I'mscaredMadou-sanlooksterrifyingisheactuallygonnahurtmewithhisweaponwhat . . . no . . . waitwhyamItryingtothink . . . No, NO! THIS IS- Helookslikeafreakingserialkillerwaithe'stoo close . . . STOP! I SAID STOP! . . . NoI'mtooslowhe'stoofastformeIcan't-'_

"REIKO!" Kagami screamed as she ran at a full sprint towards her friend but she was a few metres too far to stop Mashiro from grabbing her and pinning her to the floor. For the few seconds Habiki had vandalised her mind, Reiko had lost balance on her skates and using the distraction, the taller boy had pinned her to the floor.

"I WON'T LET YOU!" Kagami ripped off her right black glove with her teeth and lunged at Mashiro, her eyes narrowed in a glower as she prepared to tie him up in her tightest chains. But what met her furious gaze wasn't fear or apprehension but a sweet, knowing smile.

As she fell forward, she caught a side glance of Habiki standing in the background. _'No-! I FORGOT ABOUT HIM!'_

Her palm stretched towards Mashiro even as Reiko struggled to throw off the boy sitting on top of her.

From underneath his black goggles, Habiki blinked at Kagami. _'. . . I'm sorry, Kita-san.'_

Kagami could feel the chaotic sentences of jumbled words invade her mind – and in the couple of seconds she was distracted, Mashiro had jumped away from Reiko. But when the turquoise-haired girl's hand came into contact with a body of flesh, she realised too late it was friend and not foe.

' _Create. Code. Connect.'_

"KITA, IT'S ME! REIKO!" Mashiro took off running and grabbed Habiki by the arm as they made their escape, even as the black-haired boy refused to look away from Kagami till the final second before she could dismantle the lock on the struggling and bound Reiko. She had slid down onto the floor, seemingly deaf to her friend's yells, and was staring at her right palm. Habiki felt guilt nauseate him as he finally looked away and pulled his arm away from Mashiro so he could stop being dragged.

The clock began loudly ticking the final twenty seconds.

"Habi-chi.~" The raven-head gave a soft response to the call. "We're not gonna make it in time so I'm gonna do something.~" As their tired legs pushed on, Habiki turned to stare at Mashiro, who was giving him a smile dripped in saccharine venom. "But I'll need you to trust me on this, okay?~"

' _. . . What?'_ As they neared one of the glass windows, Habiki read the thought that passed through his teammate's mind a second too late.

Finally dismantled, Reiko threw a silent Kagami over her shoulder and raced towards the stairs. "WE CAN STILL MAKE I-!" But the sound of breaking glass pulled her attention – and she turned to see a monochrome-haired duo jump out of a window across the third floor hall.

Habiki let out a high-pitched scream as he tightly clutched onto the grinning Mashiro and felt his life flash before his eyes, the wind scraping against the glass cuts on his cheeks. Mashiro pressed the smaller boy tightly to his chest as they plummeted towards the hard earth – _how many sprains, ligament tears and fractures were they gonna get once they crashed?_ But the snow-haired boy quickly protruded a thickly-edged bone from his wrist and stabbed it into the concrete wall.

The pain that shot up his right hand forced hot tears through his eyes but as the screeching sound of the scraping bone violated their ears, their fall was considerably slowed down and both boys somehow managed to land on their feet.

"K-Keep running!" Habiki half-dragged Mashiro towards the mini-van and when they were a few metres away from the mall, an eardrum-splitting alarm ripped through the area, culminating from the rooftop of the building.

Inside the mall, on the ground floor, Reiko let out an anguished yell as Kagami burst into silent tears.

Outside, bathed in sweat, covered in glass cuts and more dead than alive, Mashiro and Habiki managed to somehow trudge towards their van before collapsing on the soft grass underneath. As they lay on their backs side-by-side, violent pants rattling their chests as their lungs forced in oxygen, they stared at the bright, early summer sun and the cerulean sky that was its canvas.

After the silence of a few minutes, Habiki managed to wheeze out, "I . . . I assure you . . . I'm noth . . . ing like you . . . Madou-san."

Mashiro, panting as heavily as the boy next to him, turned to his side and shot the raven-head a cheerful grin. "Call me Shiro, ne!~" he exclaimed before pulling the boy into a one-armed hug.

* * *

 **Student Name: Habiki Hara**

 **Quirk: Mind Break**

 **Mind Break allows Habiki to read people's minds and force his own thoughts into the minds of other people.**

 **P.S: He starts doubting multiple choice answers if he sees three letters consecutively in the same.**

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 10:37 a.m. – U.A.)**

Deku's right hand clenched the front of his shirt tightly as he tried to calm his thundering heart. Tsukuyomi wanted to comment on the scene that'd just occurred in front of their eyes on the screen but his first words were, "Take the backup team and have them bring the four students to Recovery Man and screen them through check up. Prioritise Hara and Madou." A black-suited male standing in the corner of the room nodded and dashed out of the metal door.

Meanwhile, the students were in turmoil.

"I won't deny," Jigoku whistled, an impressed smirk on his face, "That was pretty freakin' clever."

"Tch!" Kenshi gritted his teeth. "I knew that bastard Hara had something up his sleeve!"

Aisen gulped, remembering the insane grin on Mashiro's face when he smashed through the windows and jumped out. "Just how many terri-frying classmates do I have?!"

"For two people who couldn't be more chalk and cheese," Asuna drawled as she glanced at her own partner, "They somehow made it work out pretty well at the end." She had chosen Ryo for a reason – but would she be able to co-ordinate that well with him?

"I feel really bad for Shimamura-san and Kita-san . . .," Suzuran mumbled, staring at the ground. To be so close to victory and having it snatched away from them at the end . . . Even if it was a test, it was very brutal.

"Although we knew Madou-san was a determined combatant, Hara-san is himself a formidable enemy with a mind that is all encompassing," Akaname murmured to himself, a thumb and a forefinger grasped over his chin. "Shimamura-san is not only blessed with impeccable speed but also quick reflexes and Kita-san has impeccable stamina with both her Quirk and her ability to keep up with her partner's speed-based Quirk. But after all, this is to be expected of the students who were able to pass the hellish entrance exam. Not only are they well-versed in the usage of their Quirk but have also trained their minds and bodies to adapt to it. So, after all . . ."

As the bespectacled boy's rumblings faded into the background, Inori found her gaze immediately flitting to the next team that was up for the simulation.

Both Fuma and Koji harboured their usual expressions of melancholy and mischief but a foreboding layer of sadistic hunger lingered behind their normal expressions. While even Haruka's neon blue eyes shone with determination, Hoshi still seemed to be lost somewhere faraway, drifting through some parallel existence.

Did she even realise that she was up next?

Once about ten minutes had passed, the screens came back to life and every nook and cranny of the mall simulation was again put on display. The targets had been set back up but the students soon realised that their locations had been changed. _'Of course,'_ Haruka thought, memorising as many of the blind-spots he could. _'Why would U.A. make things easy for us?'_

"Alright, Team 2!" Deku announced. "Go to the starting position and wait for the buzzer to begin! Remember, Heroes use the back entrance while Villains use the front entrance! And no combat unless your initial entry into the mall!"

"Yes, sir!" were echoed in varying degrees of enthusiasm by the four students.

"B-Best of luck, Fujita-san!" Suzuran squeaked out in as loud a voice she could. However, the only reply she got was a half-hearted smile from Hoshi.

An irked Asuna yelled, "Fujita-san, please get your head out of the gutter! I don't know what's been up with you these past few days but you need to step up to the fight right now!"

The same weak smile briefly fizzled through the freckled girl's face. "I'll try . . ."

Even before the fight had begun, it wasn't hard to guess who the winners would end up being.

On Deku's announcement, all four students immediately jogged out of the room, donning their new identities as Heroes-in-training. As Kazumi watched them go, she drawled in a low voice, "Guessssssss this fight won't lassssssst long." _'The class clown and annoying airhead against Kanashimi and Itou? It's almost a suicide mission for the former two.'_

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge, Enoshima-san." The deeply drawn voice had come from Yasu, who stood next to his partner with his long arms crossed across his chest as he stared at the screens. "Underdogs aren't to be under-estimated, as the surprising turnaround in the first match has proved."

A pang of annoyance made the lamia clench her teeth. _'What_ _ **is**_ _with this elf-eared alien? Because of his goddamn mask and expressionless eyes, I can't read him at_ _ **all**_ _.'_ Smiling haughtily at him, she replied, "Let me add ssssssomething to your statement, Hanransssssha-ssssssan. Underdogs with _**power**_ are the onessssss not to be under-essssssstimated. The rest of the pathetic garbage can only sssssscrape by." Nearing him till her lips ghosted over his earlobe, she whispered, "But if your love of 'under-dogs' hamperssssss me during our match . . . I'll _desssssstroy_ you along with them."

Yasu pulled a little away before turning to face Kazumi and levelling her with intense jade eyes. "I may strongly dislike you, Enoshima-san," he drawled in a tone similar to that of her first comment, the only thing separating their lips a few centimetres and his dark mask, "but rest assured, this match is as important to me as it is to you . . . maybe, even more so." The redhead's eyes narrowed at the last three words. "I only hope _you_ don't lose sight of what our real goal is and sabotage everything in the end."

There was not a shred of fear on his face – only nonchalance and a subtle bitterness as he spoke to her.

And it burned Kazumi's insides.

However, before she could retort or attempt to strike him with her heavy tail, the loud buzzer ripped through the room. And, on the screen, the figures of four running students burst into life.

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 10:52 a.m. – U.A.)**

As the duo of Heroes rushed in through the back entrance of the mall and made their way past the empty fire exit, Haruka's metal feet made loud clanking echoes against the marbled floor. Fuma was ashamed to acknowledge he'd completely forgotten about his partner's metal limbs. "They'll be able to pinpoint our location immediately," he stated.

"How does that matter?" Haruka answered coolly as they sighted their first target – a well-dressed teenage couple on a date. Not too many points but none of the boys were picky. As they each grabbed one, as gently as they could, they let out a slew of automated grateful phrases. Rushing out, the navy-haired boy added, "Once they come near me, I'll knock them out." It was clear his words weren't an exaggeration.

"Koji's Quirk may seem like a joke but it's powerful and super-effective as long as he keeps breathing," Fuma supplied as they made their way to the 'safety' bar outside. "Fujita-san doesn't seem to be too much of a threat but I'd rather not underestimate her and be open to blind surprises." Both of them were wary of any possibilities like the sudden turnaround that'd occurred within the last few minutes of Team 1's match.

They had reached the safety bar within a few minutes and as soon as they dropped the citizens, they swerved around to rush back without taking any breaks. "So I just have to knock Aizawa out before he starts breathing and take Fujita out from long distance." Haruka ran his hand through his spiky locks. "It's easy enough."

Fuma's pupils narrowed under his half-lidded eyes. Confidence was good but over-confidence was the first step to one's destruction. "Don't lose, Itou-san," were his last words before his feet lit up with emerald energy and he was darting through the air.

Itou Haruka . . . it'd certainly been a risky endeavour to choose a boy who had negligent control of his destructive Quirk, especially for a mission as delicate as this. Granted, his major concern in selecting a partner had been to choose someone who was tolerable to work with and wouldn't hold him back. He had considered Hanransha, Hitori and even Asagumo but out of all the options, Itou had undoubtedly been the best choice.

' _All he has to do is keep Koji away from me.'_ With his Quirk, that had better speed than Reiko's and much better control than Haruka's, Fuma would be able to rack up more than double the enough points within the first ten minutes. As he caught hold of his next target, a single old lady with a shopping basket, he uttered some professional words of assurance to her before scooping up the robot in his arms. As long as the seafoam-haired truant wouldn't turn up, there was no chance of them losing.

' _I_ _ **cannot**_ _lose to you, Koji . . .'_

* * *

"So, to put it simply, we're totally gonna fail!"

Most of Hoshi's mind may be occupied by some other matters but her eyes were fully registering the carefree smile on Koji's face. ". . . So we aren't even going to try, Aizawa-kun?" she asked softly, her face twisted in an anxious frown.

The boy scratched his temple and replied, "Well . . . should we? I mean, of course, we could work hard and try like the good, obedient U.A. students we should be!" He grinned at the girl, adopting a solemn look in his eyes as he saluted at one of the many cameras in the first floor corridor. "To be honest, if this were actually a straight out battle, I'm pretty confident we could've given the strong, cool dudes of our class a run for their money." He crossed his arms and rapidly nodded his head even as Hoshi grew more and more confused. "Actually, if you really think about it, I'm probably the only one in class who has a sure chance of defeating Fuma-kun. Just imagine!" His eyes lit up with excitement as he framed his palms. "Our Emo Hero, the one who prides himself on his tragic past and Quirk, rolling on the floor with laughter until he passes out of exhaustion! Truly, what a sight!" He almost seemed to be shaking with humour.

However, that left his petite teammate even more confused. ". . . So then why aren't we competing?"

Koji clicked his tongue three times in tandem with the wagging of his index finger as he leaned towards Hoshi. "Situational effect, Fujita-chan, situational effect!" She blinked up at him with her round, amber eyes. He went on to explain, "In an all out battle, truly, I could exhaust Fuma and Itou and try to knock them out while they're still under the effects of my Quirk. But, we're in a 'save the poor hostages!' situation, you see?" When she slowly shook her head in refusal, he sighed and continued, "Okay, I'll simplify it more for you."

But suddenly, the sound of clinking metal echoed from the bottom of the ground floor staircase. With his ears perked up and dark eyes moved to an alert state, Koji spoke, "But before that, let's move to a better hideout, kay?"

As quietly as they could, the two teens snuck up the stairs and to the second floor, tucking away into the corner of a small store fashioned after an accessory shop. Crawling underneath the cash counter, both teens listened carefully as the metal clanks – evidently Haruka Itou's footsteps – stopped at the first floor. "I thought as well they'd plan something like this," Koji mewled, listening carefully as Haruka's footsteps slowly faded away into the background.

"Aizawa-kun." The boy turned his gaze to the downcast girl who was staring at her bent knees and small, folded knuckles with distant eyes. "I'm sorry but my head isn't really in the game today . . . and I cannot fathom what's really happening . . ."

"Then, isn't it all the better to just give up?"

The blunt sentence made Hoshi intake a sharp breath as she shot her head up to meet her teammate's gaze. Nonchalantly shrugging at her questioning stare, "I mean, you've clearly not been in the mood since the past few days plus, against Fuma-kun and Itou, _especially_ in a situation like this, I'm not gonna be able to do deliver a punch-line by myself."

It was then that she slowly began to realise what the green-haired boy was hinting at. "Then, what they're trying to do is-"

"Ah, are the bells finally ringing?" Koji chuckled, lowering his voice when Haruka's footsteps reached their hearing vicinity again. "As I stated before, I'm probably one of the few who could beat Fuma-kun in an all-out battle and being my childhood friend, he's aware of it." Hoshi straightened her posture, finally beginning to regain her focus. "This has both pros and cons – on one hand, he is familiar with my Quirk's limitations and weaknesses and can exploit it. But on the other hand, he also knows how my Gutbuster is the perfect antithesis to his Emotions Manifest, which is why, he most likely won't try to engage with us in direct combat."

The freckled girl nodded, getting the hang of things. "Then Itou-san is . . ."

"Our heroic pursuer – the Hero chosen to tail us and make sure the Villains do not succeed in their heinous plans!" He placed a hand over his mouth to stifle a guffaw since Haruka's footsteps echoed from somewhere close – most likely, he was climbing up the staircase to the second floor. "Although I'm pretty sure he's not gonna use his Quirk much to avoid damage to both himself and the civilians," he spoke in a low whisper, "I'm pretty sure he doesn't _need_ his Quirk to knock both of us out within a few minutes. All he needs to do is incapacitate us on sight or make sure we don't catch up to Fuma-kun until he has saved enough civilians."

Hoshi sank back against the counter support, all energy seemingly drained from her body – she had already been exhausted ever since the first sighting of **that news** on television and now this. _'But it's partly my fault too, for not paying attention . . .'_ However, all that she could envision even now, throbbing in her mind, were her mother's tear-stained face and despair-filled eyes.

"Let's see – we're overwhelmed in terms of strength, we've run out of half the time without collecting kidnapping a single civilian, our teammates have probably saved half of our targets by now and we're being pursued by an emotionless human missile." Right on cue, Haruka's metal footsteps were audible again but this time, the sound drew closer as he climbed up the stairs to the second floor. "Well, to avoid getting demolished by Itou, we could surrender or keep up running and hiding but . . . that isn't very cool, is it?" Koji scratched the back of his head. "My, my, Villains sure do have it tough. I sorta feel sorry for them."

Hoshi, who had been silently absorbing all his words, spoke out as soon as his mouth stopped running. "But despite that, Aizawa-san, I want to-!"

The door to the accessory shop slid open. Both teens snapped their mouths shut as the metallic footsteps encroached into the room, slow-footed but sturdy. Hoshi closed her eyes and thickly swallowed. One punch from Haruka's metal fist and they'd be knocked out for hours.

' _. . . I'm scared but . . . I have to try! If I can't even do this then . . . then . . .!'_

Koji stared at the slightly shaking but determined girl beside him . . . and grinned brightly at her. _'Interesting – how very interesting!'_

"Well, Fujita-chan-"

Hoshi snapped her head towards Koji with alarmed eyes as he crawled out and lifted himself out of his hiding place.

"-There's no harm in only trying, is there?" Koji smirked, fully turning to face Haruka.

The tall, dark-haired boy flexed his shoulders and snapped his neck to each side.

"Thank you for finally coming out of hiding. I was getting bored."

* * *

 **ED 1 – No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **Inori: . . . Why are you packing that gigantic suitcase?**

 **Pinky: What FV-san said really inspired me so I'm going all the way to Japan to force Horikoshi-sensei to make me his assistant! *inspirational fire in the background***

 **Inori: . . . And where will you get the money to fund your "dreams"?**

 **Pinky: *evil laugh* Oh, I have everything ready.**

 ***few minutes later***

 **Aisen: *crying and running at full speed* You're acting like a Monster, Pinky!**

 **Kenio: *not far behind him* This is insane! STOP!**

 **Mashiro: *sweat-dropping and running* Pinky-chi, you're kinda creeping out as well~ . . .**

 **Habiki: *silent and running*** _ **Dammit, I can't even use my Quirk against her Author Quirk.**_

 **Pinky: COME BACK, YOU ALL! *running after them full speed with maid uniforms in hand* I NEED YOUR PICTURES TO MAKE MONEY! ALSO, HEARTATTAK-SAN NEEDS SOME OF THEM . . . SO COME BAAAAAAAACK!**

 **The boys: SPARE USSSSSSSSS!**


	13. Ch 12 - The Strong & their Strengths

**OP 1 – Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 12 – The Strong And Their Strengths**

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 11:09 a.m. – U.A.)**

 _( The little boy stared at the TV with wide, glistening blue eyes._

" _And in another unsurprising victory for him, Deku manages to subdue Seismic Tiger! As the Number 1 Hero, he never fails to defend justice and keep the citizens protected from the shroud of harm!"_

 _In the small, scarcely furnished drawing room, the little boy stared with flushed cheeks at the emerald-haired Hero, the strongest Hero in the World. With his short, curly hair flaying in the light breeze and the sporadic rips on his Hero Uniform showcasing hints of the thick muscle underneath, there was no doubt that the power that exuded from him was enough to reach out to a pre-teen child who sat miles away, watching from the other end of a screen._

" _Haruka!" The boy couldn't even look away when he heard the booming voice of his father call out to him. At that moment, his bright eyes were only meant to look at Deku – even as his father entered the drawing room and took a seat beside him, the 8-year old could not look away. Only once the news program stopped airing, did he turn towards the older man._

" _You really like watching these videos, eh, Haruka?" the man, who had shortly cropped dark hair, the same shade of midnight blue as his son, smiled down at him._

 _A small smile crossed across his face. "Heroes are super cool – they defeat all these powerful Villains, save the citizens from every kind of danger and have such amazing Quirks!" With each word, the smile on his face only broadened until it reached his eyes, causing them to sparkle like azure sapphires. "I'm gonna be a super cool and super powerful Hero when I grow up, too!"_

 _His father chuckled good-naturedly at the bright-eyed child's firm declaration, ruffling his son's messy hair. "That's good, that's good, son," a shadow fell over his eyes as he spoke, his tight smile unhindered by its reaches. "But always remember one thing, Haruka."_

 _The little boy looked up with a questioning gaze as his father pulled his warm, calloused hand away._

" _No matter what kind of Hero you are, there is nothing more important than strength in this world. Strength is the key to everything – without strength, a Hero cannot exist or save anyone stronger than himself."_

 _Haruka stared at his father, at the melancholic smile that hovered on the adult's lips._

" _ **Strength**_ _is everything. So you have to be the one_ _ **stronger**_ _no matter who your enemy is." )_

The wooden table was too slow and wobbly as it flew towards him but Haruka knew what Hoshi was trying to do – buying enough time for Koji to use his Quirk. He had missed the talent show and the intricacies of viewing his classmates' Quirks due to his injuries but Fuma had given him an important rundown of his own analysis on the Quirks of their opponents.

Pulling back his right fist, the navy-haired boy let a powerful punch rip through the wooden table, breaking it into several rough bits and pieces. The harsh smash disoriented a slightly exhausted Hoshi, who had used quite a bit of power in lifting up the table, and caused a chuckle to escape Koji. "Nice, Itou-kun! Do you break girls' hearts like you break wooden tables?"

 _( "_ _ **Strength**_ _is everything."_

 _. . . 'Is it, really?' )_

For the first time in years, deep laughter escaped Haruka's lips.

"Ha ha . . . hahahaha . . . Ahahahahaha . . . AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAA!"

Hoshi stepped back in horror as the inexpressive, always quiet boy broke into howling laughter, broad shoulders quivering and metal arms wrapped around his stomach as his body was racked with violent fits. Koji was chuckling in tandem with his laughter, cracking the lamest jokes. "He he he but maybe you're more effective at breaking your own body, right?! Heeheehee, you actually don't look half that bad while laughing! You should smile more!" The seafoam-haired boy winked at him and mewled, "Who knows, maybe even our Ice Princess and Lamia Goddess would fall for your charming smile! Kyuhuhuhuhu!"

Haruka, unable to keep on standing, fell down on his knees with his metal shins creating a loud crash as they toppled to the marbled floor. "AHAHAH-AHAHAHAHAHA-HAHAHAHA- **AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**!" Koji laughed along with him, although his own laughter was controlled and somewhat contemptuous.

Hoshi took a few steps away from both males, amber eyes wide. What kind of madness was this? Haruka Itou, one of the seemingly strongest students in their class, was on his knees in front of Koji Aizawa, the supposed class clown. And while the former gasped for breath amidst his violent laughter fit, clearly unable to suck in oxygen, the freckled boy turned to her and grinned, "Let's go visit Fuma-kun, Fujita-chan! I'm sure he must be bored without anyone keeping him company!"

She nodded silently, unable to find any words to reply with and rushed after the boy as he began to speed-walk out of the room. Haruka lay near the doorway, completely rolled over with his arms wrapped around his stomach and his laughter continued, although they were more of breathless wheezes instead of fits. "W-Wait up a little, Aizawa-kun!" she called out but Koji was still giggling to himself, the smile on his face now seeming increasingly sadistic.

"Walk faster please, Fujita-chan!" Koji pouted over his shoulder as he stepped out of the doorway. "I really don't want to keep Fuma-kun wai-"

However, before he could take another step, a metal palm had wrapped around his ankle.

". . . You can still move your limbs?" Koji looked impressed as he smiled down at Haruka, who had now been reduced to a coughing mess with exhausted chuckles shuddering through his body. "That's actually really impressive, Itou-kun! Almost as impressive as your metal limbs!" However, there was no strength in his fingers and the shorter boy was easily able to step out of his grasp, Hoshi following him gingerly as she stared at Haruka with worry. "That reminds me," Koji continued speaking even as he and his partner walked out of the room and descended towards the stairs, "They're natural, aren't they? That's super cool too, actually! Are you Iron Man's secret love child or something?"

Vision blurred before Haruka's eyes as his lungs screamed for oxygen, even as his laughter finally died away. He watched Koji and Hoshi stepped down the stairs to the first floor and he tried to lift himself up but the cramped ache in his stomach greatly debilitated his movements. All his body wanted to do was rest and replenish its lost oxygen and energy and even his eyes refused to cooperate, swimming in a haze of unbalanced visualizations.

' _I can't . . . be this fucking weak . . .'_

Metal fingers clenched against each other.

' _I AM STRONG . . . I HAVE TO BE . . . THE STRONGEST . . .'_

Knees bent up.

' _ **I HAVE TO BE THE ONE EVERY VILLAIN FEARS.'**_

Slowly but surely, the boy sat up.

' _ **I HAVE TO BE . . . THE STRONGEST HERO.'**_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Run, Fujita-chan! Run like your life depends on it!" Despite his grave words, Koji's tone was incredibly light-hearted and the smile on his face never faded as both students rushed down the flight of stairs to the first floor.

"But . . . I thought you knocked him out!" Hoshi cried out as they landed on the ground floor and raced their way across the corridor, her blue curls flying like seaweed tendrils over her head.

"Well, a normal person should've lost their consciousness," Koji explained, beginning to o out of breath, "But I don't think Itou-kun's gonna give up so fast!" The area around them had been completely cleared of all hostages while their saviour, Fuma Kanashimi, was to be found nowhere in sight. "I mean, that's the first time I saw someone move while under the effects of my Gutbuster! Despite his shitty Quirk control, he's actually a rather powerful foe!"

And then, something caught his eyes. _'Oops . . . looks like I just jinxed us.'_

"Fujita-chan, move back!" With quiet some distance between them, Hoshi wasn't fast enough to process the boy's words. It was only when the darkening shadow fell over her that she looked up and saw Haruka crashing towards her at immeasurable speed, having launched himself into a jump from the second floor banister. The cerulean-haired girl uttered a shriek and activated her Quirk just as he smashed into her.

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE-!"

 _CRASH!_

Koji was blown back by the impact but managed to balance his footing by stabilizing his palms on the ground – however, the marbled ground Hoshi had been on was more or less demolished with shattered pieces erupting out of the floor. As the dust slowly cleared, the dark-eyed recognised the unconscious body of his Villain partner lying inches away from the Hero, who lifted himself on his arms and dusted away fragments of marble from his Hero uniform.

"Not . . . bad," Haruka coughed out, staring at the dusty face and spiralling eyes of the small girl underneath him. _'At the very last second, she was able to displace my location, even if only by a little bit.'_ Despite her small stature, the girl _did_ have potential. Maybe that's why Enoshima occasionally tolerated her presence.

' _But_ _ **he's**_ _still left.'_

"Bravo, bravo, Itou-kun!" Very out of breath, Haruka tried to stagger to his feet with great effort but his shins were clenched by a burning pain and he collapsed flat down. His lower stomach was plagued with a ripping ache, his body was running on low oxygen and his limbs had taken quite a bit of a hit during his jump from the second floor. In fact, if Hoshi hadn't pushed him away using her Gravity Field in the last second, there was a big chance both of them would've received serious injuries.

' _Right now, none of that matters to me.'_

His whole focus was on Koji Aizawa's impish smile and the mocking tone to his applause. "You know, the maiden side of my heart fawns over your heroism and determination! If I were a girl, I'm sure I'd be head over heels for you! You're such a knight in shining armour – no pun intended for your costume, of course."

"Shut the fuck up," Haruka gritted, pulling back his fists – but even the sentence caused him to cough. However, with Koji smirking down at him like that, his temper couldn't help flaring and all he wanted to do was bash the boy's face in.

"Ooooohhhhh, you can cuss, too?" the shorter teen placed a hand over his mouth to lampshade his sneer. "This simulation has surely shown us many sides to the class' mysterious metal hottie!" Even as Haruka wondered why the other boy wasn't using his Quirk again, the clearing dust answered his question. "I was really enjoying this, Itou-kun, but I guess we must stop playing now."

"I can't believe you're still treating everything like a game, Koji."

Fuma stood centimetres behind the 'Villain', his right hand positioned in a karate chop and resting against the his nape. "That's enough," the jade-haired 'Hero' stated in a low voice, his eyes alert for any stray movement. "Anything unnecessary escapes your mouth and I'll knock you out this very instant."

Despite rolling his eyes, Koji threw his arms up in the air and waved at the camera placed above the fountain in the centre of the room.

"I surrender!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Once the medics had filtered on-site to pick up the injured students, the unconscious Hoshi was immediately rested on a stretcher and carried away by two nurses. Koji was completely uninjured but decided to tag along after his partner, waving cheerfully at Fuma and Haruka and thanking the latter for a 'fun' match. "We'll hang out soon, okay?!" he cried as he left the site. "I'll tell you even better jokes next time!"

"I'd rather listen to Present Mic screaming at full volume through my earphones," Haruka mumbled, an irritated furrow to his thin eyebrows. He sat with his back supported against a wall and feet stretched out, waiting for another stretcher to be fetched. Fuma, surprisingly, had decided to linger beside him and wait. Looking at the boy's usual melancholic expression, he asked, "I didn't expect you to come back for me, Kanashimi."

Fuma answered without looking at his partner, his gaze fixed far ahead. "And I didn't expect you to hold out against Koji for so long. His Gutbuster . . . it's much more powerful than it sounds on paper."

"I know, right?" the sarcastic quip left his lips and slightly surprised the dark green-haired boy, who turned to stare at him. But after that, a silence descended upon the duo, only broken after the second stretcher was fetched and the injured student was helped on it (quite a back-breaking task due to his heavy metal limbs).

"Hey, Kanashimi."

Fuma soundlessly turned to the boy lying on the stretcher who stared at him with luminous sapphire eyes.

"Wanna have a joint training session with me some time?"

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 11:25 a.m. – U.A.)**

"How should I put it . . .," Deku scratched his temple, an unsure smile stretched over his face. "It's like I was expecting this turn of events . . . but not expecting them at the same time."

"I understand what you mean," Tsukuyomi sombrely nodded his head. "The battle between the forces of evil and good, the underlying equilibrium that balanced both sides of morality, truly brought out the grey."

As both teachers continued to share an intense discussion about the recently ended battle, Jobu whispered to his classmates, "Am I the only one who can't understand Tsukuyomi-sensei?"

"I'm afraid his words are a little too metaphorical for even me to decipher," Akaname replied, biting his lip underneath his surgical mask.

"Shouldn't we be leaving now, Shimizu-san?" Jigoku called out as he began walking to the door, Inori trailing beside him. Both Akaname and Kasai felt annoyed by the confident smirk on the devilish boy's face, even though he had a perfectly good reason to look so smug. "Or would you like some more time to calm your nerves?"

Kasai opened his mouth to retort but his pink-haired partner had already cut him to the chase. "No thank you, Tejina-san," although the bespectacled teen spoke in his usual polite tone, there was a clear-cut biting edge to his words. "I and Hitori-san are perfectly prepped for combat – we only hope it's the same for you."

The lilac-skinned teen only raised an eyebrow to the reply as his smirk widened over his lips. Sensing the growing animosity, Deku cleared his throat and announced, "A-Alright, Group 3, please get ready to leave after the next 30 seconds!"

Jigoku tightened the utility belt wrapped around his waist, making sure all his 'tools' were ready to be used at the drop of a hat. Kasai re-checked the gauntlets attached to both his arms, making sure the tubes that connected them to his revamped respirator mask were not obstructed by anything. Akaname zipped the collar of his green jumpsuit all the way to the bride of his nose and took off his surgical mask.

Flexing her knuckles, Inori stared at the black scales that were beginning to slowly spread over her palms. From behind the curtain of her front bangs, she glanced at Deku, who was looking at all of them with hopeful eyes.

' _I can't lose . . . I absolutely_ _ **cannot**_ _lose.'_

The screens flashed back to life, showcasing the changed target positions only for the briefest of periods to the four Heroes-in-training.

"Group 3, MOVE OUT!"

* * *

Her claws jutted out as she approached the elderly couple standing near the top of the basement staircase, kitten-heeled boots making faint clacks against the marbled floor. However, before she could grab hold of them, a restraining hand rested upon her shoulder.

"I think it's better if you do it without the claws, Tetsuya-san," Jigoku suggested, smiling nervously.

Inori turned to look at him impassively. "My strength gets reduced in half if I don't use my claws."

Shaking his head, the boy replied, "Since we don't have any speed-based rivals like Shimamura-san or Kanashimi-san, we don't need to hurry up. In fact, with your wings, we're still much faster than our Villains." He pointed to his back, signalling the spinal cord area from where his partner's wings jutted out during her Quirk transformation. "Besides, we don't wanna scare grandpa and grandma and lose out on any extra points."

Realising the point in his words, Inori silently retracted her claws and lifted the grandma automaton bridal style, only nodding to its robotic fawning of gratitude. Her wings flared out with light flaps, shaking out bits of black feathers, and before she left, she told Jigoku, "Then, as planned, scout the surrounding area and keep a watch out for Shimizu and Hitori."

He affirmed and she was off, flying at a slow pace (like he'd asked her to) out the building and towards the safety zone. Nodding at the 'grandpa' and assuring him that his partner would be back soon to save him, Jigoku cracked his knuckles and murmured, "Alright, now to do my bit."

Their plan was simple – Jigoku would scout for the highest-point targets and be on a lookout for the Villain duo while Inori would do the rescue work and provide frontal assault if they ran into their enemies. The horned boy had already provided her with one of his cards with a 'contact' chip attached to it – if he was attacked in her absence, all he would need to do was use his own card and alert her to his location. Besides, even though he wasn't the best at endurance, he was confident he could hold out against the blue-pink duo for at least a minute or two.

' _I won't have to unnecessarily lose out on any stamina that way and Tetsuya can make the best use of her strengths.'_ Making his way deeper into the mall, Jigoku made sure to stick to the shadows as much as he could, sneaking behind fountains, under reception tables and using pillars to keep himself out of a sweeping view.

The ground floor of the simulation mall consisted of a central fountain, a tapering corridor at the left that led to the basement staircase and back entrance and another tapering corridor to the right that consisted of the front entrance and staircases that led to the upper floors. However, the layout of the building prevented the main and the back entrances from being in direct view of each other, since they were placed on diagonal ends.

Moving quickly but quietly, Jigoku snuck towards the bottom of the first staircase and made sure to glance everywhere, on the watch for targets _and_ the Villain team. _'The only advantage they have over us is by using their gases for long distance combat. From the talent show, I can deduce that Shimizu has a rather limited area up to which he can use Incense but the bigger problem is Hitori-'_

The brilliant blaze of flame the reserved, respirator wearing boy had showcased had easily reached the ceiling of the gym, several metres above.

' _-not only is his gas poisonous . . . it can be ignited and spread over a much larger area.'_ Jigoku crawled up the staircase, making sure to keep his body bent low. However, he felt a low vibration from the card slipped inside his breast pocket. Inori was trying to contact him through the transmitter.

"Yes, Tetsuya-san?" he whispered, aligning himself against the corner of a wall.

"I'm done with the elderly couple," her voice resonated clearly from the other end – as expected of U.A.'s support inventors. "Where are you?"

"Make your way to the first floor, using the staircase behind the fountain," his eyes scanned his surroundings, alert towards the slightest movements. "And remember to be as discreet as possible – so it's preferable you don't use your wings."

"Roger." And with the blunt reply, the device was switched off.

Slipping the card into his pocket again, Jigoku continued moving and as soon as her reached the first floor, he slipped inside a shop to wait for his partner. _'Currently, everything's going to plan – not that the Villains are too big of a threat but looking at the previous matches . . . you can never be too careful, right?'_

' _Now, if they_ _ **actually**_ _manage to work together . . . that's gonna be troublesome.'_

* * *

 **Student Name: Haruka Itou**

 **Quirk: Missile**

 **Missile allows Haruka to propel himself at great speeds, using the craters in his palms and soles, and he builds up kinetic energy during his flights. He can release the built up energy when he makes contact with an object and the amount of energy he releases depends on the amount of kinetic force he's stored up.**

 **P.S: He's a talented electric guitarist.**

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 11:35 a.m. – U.A.)**

"What?! _That's_ how Fujita was knocked out?!"

"I know, right? Ah, that's so cruel of Itou-kun!~ My heart hurts for the little one!"

"You, Itou!" Kagami watched wordlessly from a distant bed as Reiko marched towards the still Haruka, glaring at the dark-haired boy with fierce orange eyes. "Is that how you treat a girl, Itou?!" She exclaimed.

' _I knew nothing good was gonna happen after Recovery Man left . . .,'_ Kagami thought to herself. Thanks to his extremely potent Quirk, all the students had recovered from most of their injuries within _minutes._ The rumours of UA having a dangerously powerful healer had been floating around for long but his Quirk was even more exceptional than the students had imagined.

"Gender does not matter when it comes to good or evil," the boy bluntly replied to the small blonde's accusations and reached for his earplugs on the bedside table. "If you start judging a Villain like that, you'll be dead within seconds."

However, before he could plug them in, they were snatched away. Haruka stared at his empty palm as Reiko continued berating, "But still . . .! She's your classmate! Ya oughta have been more careful!"

Koji was having a jolly good time snickering to himself while Habiki, like Kagami, had opted to occupy a bed at a distance away from the others. The turquoise-haired girl was jealous of how peacefully he was reading his book.

' _Maybe I should begin a reading habit too,'_ she thought to herself, sliding out of bed to head towards the washroom. Despite her outward composure, the guilt and the disappointment of their – no, _her_ – bitter failure was a scorching stain on the walls of her mind.

Haruka stared back at Reiko, levelling eyes with her angry glare. But when her orange pupils refused to look away, he sighed quietly and held out his palm. "I'll apologise to her once she wakes up . . . so give them back." He momentarily glanced at the bed of the sleeping Hoshi, whose chest was heaving up and down peacefully.

"That's better!" Kagami could hear the blonde exclaim as she slid open the door to the washroom and entered. The infirmary washroom consisted of three parts – the first cubicle with the 'facilities', the second cubicle that doubled as a shower and a changing room and the outer common which held a basin, towels and other amenities. _'Maybe I'll feel a little better after I wash my face.'_

With her deeply muddled thoughts, the girl proceeded to open the tap and cupping the cool water in her palms, splashed it on her face. With her eyes closed and mind lost in contemplations, she didn't realise that the shower had been running all this while. And nor did she realise when it was turned off and the door to the shower room creaked open.

It was only when she closed the tap, dried her face and looked up that she noticed the reflection of the figure standing behind her in the mirror.

"W-Woah-oh!" Kagami turned around with panicked eyes, coming face-to-face with an almost naked and dripping Mashiro, who only smiled at her with an amused glint in his visible right eye. "I-I-I'm so sorry!" she turned back, blushing so hard her face felt like it would melt off. But turning around was no good since she could still see his toned abs and bare chest in the mirror.

"I-I'll leave right away!" she squeaked, covering her eyes with her hands and rushing towards the door. But before she could take two steps, a hand grabbed her left wrist in a firm grip.

Kagami's heart almost broke through her ribcage and thundered out of her chest.

"It's okay to be genuine, Kaga-chi.~"

Dark, round eyes flew wide open.

"W-What do you mean?" she mumbled out, refusing to take her eyes off the marbled floor, her face pinker than Akaname's hair. Mashiro still hadn't let go of her wrist, his fingers cold and wet but so very, _very_ soft-

She immediately drew a bar to that train of thought.

"Losing was really painful, wasn't it?" She clenched back the cry that threatened to escape her throat – Mashiro gently let go of her wrist but she stood rooted to her spot. He moved closer to her, water dripping off his drenched snow locks, the only garment covering his nude body a small towel that hung low on his waist. "Especially when you both were so close to victory . . . only to have it snatched away from before your very eyes.~"

Her fists clenched – how could someone be cruel enough to talk about something so insensitive in such a light-hearted, mocking tone?!

"You must so wish you had warned Reiko-chi about your intuition earlier, right?" Mashiro giggled, standing only inches away from the much shorter girl. "Just because of a little carelessness and indecisiveness . . . it cost you both such an important match."

"What is your problem . . .?!" Kagami swerved around, her fists tightened almost painfully – because right now, she so wanted to use Enigma on the pale boy and leave him writhing and bound on the floor for a few hours.

But that was a mistake on her part because what she was faced with was a wet, bare-bodied and handsome guy with the cruellest smirk on his face.

"Isn't that something you should ask yourself, Kaga-chi?~" he mewled, tapping two fingers against the left side of her chest, right above her heart. "It's been many years . . . shouldn't you be getting over that incident already?~"

Her soul almost left her, eyes widening impossibly.

"How do you-" she gasped out, her voice breathless but a slim index finger pressed against her soft lips.

"Shhhhhhhhh." Mashiro sneered, leaning in close to her face – and, for a few seconds, Kagami thought he was going to kiss her. _Press_ his lips against her gently and seal her mouth. But he stopped centimetres away and breathed, "Now, would you kindly step out and let me change, ne?~"

As the words cut through her, she shot him a furious glare and slapping his hand away, yelled, "You're sickening!" He waved after her as she stomped out of the washroom and slammed the door behind her.

Glad the curtains formed an impeding partition and the fact that Koji and Reiko kept the others occupied with their loud chatter, Kagami slid down against the washroom door. With her knees buckled against her chest, she stared at their tops distractedly, her thumb brushing against her lips

The lips Mashiro had just touched.

"What . . . is wrong with me?" she mumbled, wrapping her arms around her knees and pressing her face against it. A part of her wanted to tie Mashiro in her chains and hang him upside down from the ceiling as punishment for his cruel words.

But a part of her echoed-

' _. . . His fingers were_ _ **really**_ _soft.'_

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 11:37 a.m. – U.A.)**

" _Please_ be careful with the baby, Hitori-san."

The distrustful gaze in Akaname's eyes and the scathing edge in his words hurt Kasai a little but he only nodded in reply, keeping his real emotions muted. The bespectacled boy was intelligent, responsible and efficient – he was the one to decide the rooftop as their first target, assured there would be quite a plethora of high-numbered targets. And he'd been correct. A young automaton couple with three triplet babies and a little girl with her grandmother had been enjoying the breeze under the warm sunlight. Both Villains had decided to kidnap the babies for now and come back later for the grandmother-granddaughter duo, _if_ circumstances permitted it.

But even though he was carrying only one toddler, it was so clear that the taller boy thought he would harm the kid at any moment now.

As they rushed carefully down the stairs, ignoring the automated sobbing of the young 'mother' and the threats of the 'father', Kasai had a violent, fleeting premonition.

 _( 'KASAI!'_

 _Hot, burning flames around him._

' _AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHHH!'_

 _The hand around his throat melted away._

' _You . . . you-'_

 _The mouth that cursed at him was burned._

 _And before he could do anything, he was wrapped up in those flames-_

' _ **KASAI!**_ _' )_

Akaname turned around when the footsteps behind him stopped midway on the second floor staircase. "Hitori-san?" the boy swerved around, two crying babies in each arm, and his face twisted in annoyance. "We _cannot_ afford to take a bre-"

But the look in the trauma-stricken eyes snatched away the rest of his words.

"Is it because of what happened _that day,_ Shimizu-san?" The words were so faint they almost didn't reach the pink-haired boy's ears.

But when they did, confusion muddled him. "Which day are you talking about?" Kasai was looking somewhere far away, light crimson eyes fixed to a disturbing horizon, completely deaf to the cries of the baby that stirred in his arms. Akaname stepped towards him and asked, "Is something the matter, Hitori-san?" The boy shook his cerulean locks, his skin a firmer shade of pallid blue than usual. "Are you . . . okay?"

Kasai didn't want to but he couldn't keep the words in anymore. "Why do you hate me, Shimizu-san?" he blurted out.

They were faint words, brief words but they echoed like thundering judgement for the two teenagers.

The wails of the babies had faded into indistinct sobs that were only murmurs in the background and for the first time ever, Akaname and Kasai actually looked each other in the eye. A meeting of shocked black and despondent cerise, unspoken emotions wishing to claw out of choked throats.

The taller male was the first to speak, drawing back. With the tips of his ears a bright crimson, he began, "I-!"

However, the flapping of wings from a close distance immediately alerted the two into action.

Immediately exchanging a single, silent glance, they began rushing down the staircase, stuffing nipples into the mouths of the babies to quieten them as much as possible. For that solitary moment, they agreed on a single thought.

' _We will put this off until later.'_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The sound of the crying babies echoed from somewhere nearby but it died as soon as they'd heard it. However, straining his ears, Jigoku heard the very faint sound of rushing footsteps and he couldn't help smirking.

"What do you wanna do, Tetsuya-san?" he turned to the girl who hovered near him, magnificent black wings stretched out behind her. If he was not a man of self-control, he wouldn't have been able to take his eyes away from the beautiful, exquisite appendages. "Do you wanna immediately 'capture' the Villains or wait until they pose more harm?"

Inori briefly shifted her silver eyes to his face. "Let's wait," she replied, flying ahead. "I want to save some more people."

Shrugging, Jigoku followed after her, making sure to never go off his alert mode. "Whatever you say, Princess, I shall follow."

Within fifteen minutes, the Heroes had already saved a total of twenty one targets – all of differing varieties, of course, but a good chunk of high-pointers had been thrown in between. During the running, they hadn't run into the Villain duo (despite carefully tracking the sound of their footsteps every chance they got) because the area would always be littered with magenta mists of Kasai's poisonous gas. Traps to make sure the Heroes wouldn't risk travelling through the gas-sprayed area and go after them.

' _But at this rate, we'll easily end up winning due to higher points.'_ They were now on the fourth floor and looking at the broken window at the end of the corridor, both realised it was the same place where Team 1 had their brutal showdown.

A scared middle-aged office worker was hiding behind a pillar but exerted a sigh of relief when he saw the Heroes approaching him. The fourth floor only had a population of scattered, low-pointer automatons but Inori adamantly insisted on saving all of them. "Say, Tetsuya-san?" Jigoku asked both each escorted a mannequin to the ground floor. She turned over her shoulder to look at him. "You have been saving each and every 'citizen' we've come across . . ." He let his words trail off as they reached the shattered window – since they were up on a high floor, it'd been decided the boy would stand on guard while the girl would use her wings and fly the civilians to safety.

Carrying the middle-aged man, she climbed on the window sill, quiet and brooding. "-That's really admirable of you but . . .," the horned boy cleared his throat, slightly intimidated by the famous 'Berserker.' "I was wondering . . . is there a special reason behind that?"

When she continued standing still and did not reply to his words for at least half-a-minute, Jigoku braced himself for the worst and expected her to finally tear his organs out with her large claws. However, all she did was sigh softly, give him a half-glance over her shoulder and mumble, "After we win the match, I'll tell you."

He could only stare in surprise as she took off.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 11:48 a.m. – U.A.)**

"This is an insane gamble."

Under the heat of the ascending sun, tucked away in the shady corner of a turret, a blue-haired boy spoke nervously to the bespectacled boy beside him.

"We _don't_ have any other choice," Akaname snapped, a bead of nervous perspiration running down his temple. "Do you think any of us would be able to beat Tetsuya-san in close combat?"

Kasai gulped – he had a lot of confidence in his combat abilities but their opponent _was_ a member of Team Tenshi, widely regarded as the strongest middle school students in all of Japan once upon a time. And both he and Akaname, having been front seat viewers of her abilities during the entrance test, could not underestimate her even if they tried to.

"Plus, Tejina-san will be providing her full backup," Akaname muttered, even as the sound of approaching footsteps and flapping wings echoed from the staircase leading to their location, the rooftop. "We don't even _know_ what kind of an arsenal his cards have."

Kasai's ears perked up as the door to the rooftop swung open. "But if we can pull this off . . . we might just be able to win." Akaname stated, staring at the other boy with determined eyes, before rushing out of his spot.

Jigoku whistled a soft tune, crimson eyes sweeping over the terrace even as Inori landed beside him, her wings folding to her back. "Quite a lot of targets here, including a few high-pointers," he muttered. "That means it's a trap . . . be careful, Tetsuya-san."

Inori nodded but suddenly, her eyes snapped to the side at the barely audible footsteps that were sneaking from the back. Both Heroes turned back and were greeted with the sight of a brave-faced, unarmed Akaname, staring back at them with fierce eyes.

' _. . . Heh, I didn't expect him to reveal himself like this. But where's the other one?'_ Jigoku smirked at him and commented, "Well, if anything, I gotta hand over points for bravery to you, Shimizu-san."

"The battle still hasn't ended, Tejina-san." His reply was quick and abrasive. "If I'm correct, we still have around ten minutes left."

"Give up, Shimizu and Hitori." Inori stepped threateningly towards Akaname, her large, black wings fanning over her, causing the pink-haired boy to step back a little. "Give up . . . or I won't be able to guarantee your safety." Silver eyes glimmered with cold brutality.

Jigoku nervously turned to his partner. "Calm down, Tetsuya-san, it's just a class exercise . . ."

"I'm sorry but you'll have to _make_ me give up." The green-decked 'Villain' planted his feet firmly to the ground, forcing them to stay rooted despite the fear that was slowly spreading through his whole body. "I can't afford to lose this match and, as long as I can move, I _won't_ lose this match."

All three figures stood in silence for a few moments, even as Kasai mentally jogged himself for his quickly approaching turn. But the moment was soon over.

". . . Alright, let's have it your way then."

Inori took off with such a powerful flap of her wings that even her partner was unable to keep balance due to the force of the wind and fell down on his rear. Akaname froze for a few seconds at the sight of the dangerous beast that flew towards him, armed with large, viciously sharp, black and crimson claws. However, before one of the claws could rip a hole clean through his stomach, a geyser of poisonous gas sprayed at both of them, causing the girl to be caught in its haze.

"Hurry up, Hitori-san!" Akaname yelled, covering himself in a shroud of Incense to prevent Death Breath's effects on him. Jigoku jumped to his feet just as Kasai jumped out of his hiding place and using his new gauntlets, pointed in the opposing directions towards both Heroes and began spraying out a suffocating amount of gas.

' _Fuck, are you kidding me?!'_ Jigoku backed away as much as he could until he was out of Death Breath's range but Inori was still within the haze. Kasai gave a single apologetic glance at the horned boy before disappearing within the poisonous mist, to where his partner and the Hero were. _'Shit, I can't even enter or save Tetsuya!'_ The gas was spreading over the terrace at a slow but steady pace and had even caught some of the civilians in its wispy tendrils. _'But why would they pull of such an endeavour on an open space? And_ _ **why**_ _hasn't Tetsuya-san escaped the mist yet?!'_

Inori lay on the floor, her wings flapping weakly and her claws slowly reverting to human hands. The sudden outburst of gas from beside her – she had _completely_ looked over the blind-spot turret – had burned into her eyes and disoriented her for a few seconds. During that time, Akaname had used a high-density attack on her to drain her out of most of her energy, leaving her only barely conscious.

But due to exerting so much power, the other boy had been forced down to the floor himself. "I told you . . . to not . . . under . . . estimate us . . ." he panted, collapsed on the ground with limbs spread out and his chest chugging in oxygen. _'Incinerate took a lot out of me but I have to maintain my shroud . . .'_ He was barely able to retain the protective Incense flames around his body but now that Inori had been taken down, their plan would most probably be able to see success.

Having a major part of her energy sucked out of her and raking in poisonous gas every second, it would only be a little while before she was knocked out.

. . . But wings began flapping.

Both the approaching Kasai and the prone Akaname were stilled into shock, only able to watch as Inori stirred and slowly lifted herself on her arms. Her thick, long, black curls that covered her face parted away to reveal . . . a _barely_ human visage.

"How . . .?!" both boys mumbled even as the girl slowly staggered to her feet, her thighs, arms, face and neck . . . every visible part of her skin . . . began to be overlapped in black scales. Her cheeks, chin and forehead were already decked in them and her eyes, her steely eyes, had a changed look in them.

The look of a _monster._

Cracking her neck to each side, the girl intoned in a low voice, "You're stronger than I thought, Shimizu. It took me at least a minute to regain my energy from that attack." As she sauntered towards him, he tried to move himself but, for fear or due to exhaustion, his limbs refused to move.

"But . . . my Death Breath . . ."

Inori turned to look back at Kasai, standing upright within the haze of poisonous pink death that surrounded her.

The boy was barely able to complete his words. ". . . How . . . are you not affected by it?"

"Oh, that?" she strained her neck to the side, gunmetal eyes feasting on him. "Poison does not affect me."

And that day, the world slipped from underneath Kasai Hitori.

He could not explain the exhilaration or anger that coursed through his body at those words. He could not explain why he suddenly launched himself at her, screaming curses, fists drawn back, his vision swimming as his feet pushed and pulled him towards Inori Tetsuya.

" _Listen, brat."_

His mentor's deep voice resonated within him.

" _The only thing that separates a Hero and a Villain is the glint in their eyes when they look at you."_

"STOP AT THIS MOMENT, HITORI-SAN!" Akaname cried. But the screamed words fell on deaf ears.

Inori turned to fully face the approaching boy, his cerise eyes filled with raging sorrow. But they weren't looking at her.

"Come," she emotionlessly taunted, her wings fully unfolding.

"YOU BITCH-!"

A gauntlet thrust out, aimed right at the raven-head's face.

A click of a trigger.

A boy who fell into the abyss.

A girl who tried to reach out.

Outside the haze, Jigoku hovered even as within it, Akaname slowly began crawling out.

But none were fast enough to escape the explosion of the flames that burst forth.

* * *

 **ED 1 – No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **Pinky:** Hmmm . . . I've somehow managed to earn a lot with the maid pictures of the four boys. After all, nothing can beat the Author Quirk! ***evil yandere laugh***

 **Inori: *stares at the four traumatised teens*** Well, it will take a lot of time for them to recover . . .

 **Pinky:** _But_ I've been offered more money to make the other boys dress up in costumes! ***rubs hands evilly*** The day I can finally fly to Japan and take ove- _I mean,_ become Horikoshi-sensei's assistant isn't far! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 **Akaname and Yasu: *pass by engaged in conversation***

 **Pinky: *w***

 **Inori: -_-;** Oh shit.

 **Pinky:** And oh! Before I go on another of my hunts, the forum will be updated with information on the Hero Costumes by this Saturday! So stay tuned, my amazing readers! :D


	14. Ch 13 - Scorched Ego

**OP 1 – Zero by Aimer**

* * *

 **Chapter 13 – Scorched Ego**

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 11:56 a.m. – U.A.)**

 _( He stood so close to the edge, ready to jump off, ready to fall into the never-ending cavern below._

 _And she, despite being so near, wouldn't be able to catch him in time._

" _Ne, Inori?"_

 _Eyes the colour of burning sienna enraptured the mysterious smile on his face._

" _Let's run away together." )_

"Argh . . . fuck . . ." The raven-haired girl tried to lift herself up on her arms but the singeing pain that covered the right side of her torso stung through her charred skin, digging into the delicate flesh below. The overpowering stench of smoke wafted into her nostrils, scratched into her throat and bleared her eyes but through the lids of her water-y pupils, she could make out an indistinct figure lying right below her.

"Uhhhhhh . . . mmn . . ." Despite his groans, Kasai looked fairly well – his right gauntlet was completely smashed from when she'd struck at it to extinguish the flames, causing pieces of glass to embed into his skin and rupture through his arm. But except that, he only had minor scratches and faint burns on his body . . . and Inori was extremely thankful that he was still breathing.

"Tet . . . suya . . . –san?" He blinked very slowly, voice guttural and resonating but so very faint. He looked up at her with confusion, as if he did not recognise her, or anything about the world he lived in. It was hard to think those cerise eyes were the same raging ones that'd wanted to kill her just a few minutes ago.

"Yep, that's me," she muttered, rolling away from on top of him and toppling to her side. However, the movement made her burnt skin scorch more fiercely. "Shit, it hurts," she couldn't help the hiss that escaped her throat.

The cuss made realisation dawn on Kasai and he was sitting up with a start, eyes alarmed and swerving with chaotic negativity. The Death Breath mist around them had mostly faded away but faint wisps of it still lingered in the air. "I . . . No I . . ." His eyes were hollow and despondent as they moved around, the light in them quickly fading. "I . . . did it again . . ." He lifted his hands and clutched his head between them, almost as if numb to the battered condition of his right arm.

That scared look on his face . . . Inori remembered seeing a fragment of it on him during the entrance exam.

"Mate, get a hold of yourself!"

Both teens flicked their stares at the sound of Jigoku's voice – the boy was kneeling on the ground and held a rather limp Akaname in his arms, trying to jolt him awake while having covered his own mouth and nose with a red scarf. Even as the curly-haired boy shook and yelled at the unconscious bespectacled male, Kasai slowly felt everything slip away from him.

Again . . . he'd done it again . . .

 _( The scarlet flames burst forth, lapping at everything living or non-living in their way, dogged and haunting like the very fires of Hell itself._

 _He could hear the dying screams around him but the scorching flames had wrapped him up in their agonising cloak, blocking his vision and throwing him into burning anguish._

" _You . . ."_

 _The Villain's lips blistered, eaten away by the raw heat._

" _You . . . are a murderer . . ."_

" _ **You**_ _are a_ _ **Villain**_ _." )_

* * *

Deku felt his heart almost leap out of his chest when Recovery Man emerged from the curtain-enclosed bed, hands shoved in the pocket of his lab-coat.

"How is he, Shuzenji-kun?"

The redhead flashed Deku a reassuring smile (causing Inori, Kagami and Reiko to almost nosebleed at its radiant beauty even from a distance) and answered, "Just a minor case of hypothermia, Midoriya-san. I've warmed up Shimizu-kun's body temperature to a normal degree and covered him with thermal blankets and warm compresses. I'll be constantly monitoring his body temperature and vital signs for the next few hours so you don't need to worry."

The olive-haired Hero finally let himself sigh in relief. If Ruka Shuzenji, U.A.'s highly capable head nurse and the grandson of the late and great Recovery Girl, said things were okay, then one didn't need to worry anymore. "Thank you, Shuzenji-kun," the freckled adult smiled at him, offering a respectful nod. "You're our saving grace."

"No need for thanks, Midoriya-san," Recovery Man shook his head, his silky crimson locks caressing his cheeks gently at the movement. "It is my duty and honour to be able to heal people and save lives." He gave a short bow and stated, "I must re-check on Tetsuya-chan and Hitori-kun once. Excuse me."

Deku nodded and watched as the male disappeared into Inori's cabin, pulling the curtains after him. The girl had received the worst injuries during the simulation battle with second-degree burns searing her right arm and the right side of her upper body but due to Ruka's Heal, the blisters on her skin had already begun drying up with new skin forming underneath.

' _I still can't clearly understand what exactly happened at that very moment,'_ the male drifted off into deep thought, unconscious of the gazes of the students upon him as he stood with drooping shoulders in the middle of the infirmary. _'They had a final confrontation on the rooftop and Tetsuya-chan was caught in the Death Breath's mist. But then she got up and something happened between her and Hitori-kun . . . but_ _ **what**_ _exactly? What triggered him so much he lost control of his body and accidentally ignited the gas through his gauntlet?'_

It was Habiki's voice that brought Deku out of his reverie. "Deku-sensei," the calm boy spoke, looking up from his book and gazing at the Symbol of Peace with insightful silver eyes. "I think you should go meet Hitori-san once."

The freckled adult stared open-mouthed at Habiki for a few seconds before something snapped in his mind. _'Of course, he must be speaking because of his Mind Break!'_ "Thank you, Hara-kun!" The Hero genuinely smiled at the short boy and the student reciprocated with a calm smile of his own. Swallowing his nervousness and lack of self-esteem, Deku tightened his scarred fists and determinedly marched to the bed where Kasai lay.

' _I can do this! No, as his teacher, as a Hero, as a human being . . . I_ _ **HAVE**_ _to do this!'_ His willpower shone brilliantly in his emerald eyes.

' _Even if he is_ _ **his**_ _student . . . No, especially because he is_ _ **his**_ _student.'_

"Hitori-kun, are you awake?" Making sure to adopt a reassuring expression, Deku pulled back the curtains to the very last bed situated at the end of the infirmary, quiet a distance away from the noisy space occupied by the other students. However, his expression melted away as soon as he came face-to-face with the blue-haired boy.

Kasai was softly crying to himself, eyes blurred with tears.

"A-Ahh, s-sensei . . ." The boy made an attempt to wipe them away but winced when he unconsciously lifted his bandaged right arm. For Kasai, things could not get any worse – not only had he almost killed three of his classmates, he was caught sobbing by Deku of all people. The Number One Hero, the Symbol of Peace, had caught him crying alone like some abandoned, traumatised kitten.

What would his mentor say to all this?

But before he could hide his reddened face in shame, Kasai felt his body being pulled into a strong but warm hug and calloused fingers dab away at the wet trails around his eyes.

"It's okay, Hitori-kun," Deku whispered into his hair, rubbing the boy's back in soothing, warm circles and burying his face in his broad chest. "Cry as much as you want. I'll make sure no one listens."

The boy bit his shaking lips. "Sensei . . . I'm fine . . . really . . ."

But as his words cracked, so did his heart – and he finally let the tears fully fall.

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 12:32 a.m. – U.A.)**

"Since only two groups are left," Deku faced the crowd of antsy teenagers with an expression of complete sobriety, "We will be completing the Battle Simulation within the next hour."

"Sensei, what about Inori-san and the others?!" As expected, Kenio blurted out the words that had been weighing heavily on his mind all this while. After the horrifying explosion, he hadn't been allowed to leave the camera room to go and visit his friends, leaving him embittered and jitter-y. He understood the teachers had their own reasons for it but would a short meeting really matter that much?! He just wanted to make sure they were okay with his own eyes, dammit!

"All four of them are in completely stable conditions." Deku sighed in relief when Tsukuyomi spoke up – whenever matters had to be held with a stern hand, he would always be upfront and confront the students head on. "As long as Recovery Man persists in UA, there is nothing to worry about." Kenio looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue.

"Chill out, Nakamura!" Reiko cheerfully patted the ginger on the back. "Your girlfriend's a little roasted but I'm sure she'll be a-okay!" The first and second group students – except Mashiro, Hoshi and Haruka – had returned to the watch room to observe the remaining matches. "B-Besides," the blonde blushed heavily as she completed her sentence, "R-Recovery Man's really amazing."

"S-She's not my girlfriend!" Kenio exclaimed embarrassedly, the flush that erupted on his cheeks rivalling his blonde classmates reddened face. But hearing those words greatly reassured him.

"Sensei." Everyone turned to look at Fuma, as always standing away from the crowd in a lonely corner. "What were the results of the third battle?" Everyone gasped in recognition that amidst all the chaos, they had been unable to see how everything had played out in the end due to the obstructive gas. But with a little calculation, it wasn't hard to gauge out the end result.

"Tejina and Tetsuya overshadowed the darkness and survived as the harbingers of light," Tsukuyomi was the one to answer the student's query. "They managed to save a much higher number of citizens and from the Villain duo, Shimizu lost consciousness. However, since it was due to an unforeseen accident, his unconscious not be taken into account. Nevertheless, victory has graced team Tejina-Tetsuya."

As the students broke into chatter again, Asagumo Suzuran was frozen to her spot, her face as pale as faint moonlight and shudders racking her petite body. Now that the third battle was over and results had been declared, it meant-

"Group 4, please get ready to depart in the next two minutes," Deku announced, looking at the rose-haired teen with a sympathetic smile.

"Hell yeah!" Jobu, as expected, grinned broadly and punched his right fist into his left palm. "I've been freaking waiting a long time for this, ya know?!" He turned to his partner and beamed optimistically at her, flashing a row of extra sharp teeth. "Let's do our best, Asagumo!" The girl could not return the smile, only becoming more horrified.

Cracking his knuckles and flexing his shoulders, Ryo was seething with an immense amount of pent-up energy and bloodlust. "Finally, I can teach the scrap metal bastard a lesson." Suzuran saw the toxic sneer on his face and felt herself slowly be drained of spirit.

Suppressing a yawn with her palm, Asuna flashed disinterested glances at both boys before walking up to her friend – and opponent – and gravely looking down at her. As the young girl shrunk into herself in the presence of the taller brunette, the magenta-eyed girl spoke, "Asagumo-san, there's something I need to talk to you about in private."

While Ryo and Jobu continued exchanging heated glares in the background and the students were set to discussing various topics, Asuna took Suzuran to a secluded corner of the room and sighed, pressing a thumb against her temple. While the doll-faced girl stood staring at her with large and nervous amethyst eyes, she said, "Listen, I know this is an incredibly nerve-wracking battle for you but you don't have to be scared." When the confusion on the shorter girl's face grew, the brunette further divulged, "What I'm saying is for _you_ to stay out of _our_ way. I and Kenshi-san won't attack you as long as you stay out of our sight – you can hide, you can run, you can kidnap hostages . . . basically, you can do whatever you want. Just don't get in our way and we won't come after you."

Although confusion and anxiety bubbled in her mind with foaming froths, Suzuran could very well make sense of her friend's words. _'Stay out of their way . . . and they won't come after me?'_ Although she had missed Ryo's Quirk appreciation performance, she had heard how good his performance was from the others – that if it hadn't been a _talent_ show, he would've definitely landed amongst the Top 5. And Asuna's performance . . . she couldn't forget that prodigious showcase of skill and talent even if she wanted to.

So the offer that was on her plate was incredibly tempting.

But there was still a loose thread hanging amidst everything.

When Suzuran's eyes flickered to Jobu (who was a few insults away from exchanging fists with Ryo), Asuna's pupils rolled backwards into her head. "I know, I know, Jobu-san will _definitely not_ agree to it and come roaring at us in all his masculine, metallic glory. But you can just let him do whatever the hell he wants to." The brunette turned over her shoulder to stare at the two males with a look of utter disdain. "The manly chauvinists can throw their muscles at each other as much as they want and keep themselves out of our way."

It was obvious that once the two clashed, there would be no backing away from a fight until one of them was lying unconscious on the ground. _'But still . . .,'_ Suzuran felt her chest tighten. _'I want to accept what Nishiya-san says but it feels so . . . wrong.'_

"Alright, Group 4, you'll be moving out in 10 seconds!" Deku announced as the cameras were switched on again.

"Think about things very carefully, Asagumo-san," Asuna added, staring down at the girl through narrowed magenta eyes – Suzuran felt her body bristle, never having been on the receiving end of such a look from one of her closest friends in UA. "I really don't want to hurt you since you're one of my favoured acquaintances but if you choose to get in my way . . . I won't have a choice."

The last words were uttered so coldly that she could feel their chill hang in the atmosphere even after the brunette had walked away. Writing the kanji for **'manly'** on her right palm, gulping it down with her fears and raking in a deep, steadying breath, Suzuran walked with marching footsteps and came to a stand beside Jobu.

Nodding once he saw all the students were ready, Deku flashed all of them an encouraging smile while Tsukuyomi nodded his head in his own way of saying 'All the best.'

"Group 4, move to site!"

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 12:38 a.m. – U.A.)**

This was easy. This was actually _so easy_ that Asuna _knew_ she could do it with both eyes closed.

She was the only child of Mount Lady and Kamui Woods, two of the top Heroes of Generation X – being a Hero wasn't something that needed to be conditioned into her through years of training and discipline. She was _born_ with it.

Similar to the previous three times, the Hero team entered from the backdoor where they were greeted with the staircase to the car parking basement on the right and a whole ground floor littered with pseudo-shops that lay at the other end of the tapering corridor. She could already see three targets in vicinity, a trio of high school girls much like herself. Without waiting for Ryo, she walked towards them and immediately threw herself into conversation while explaining how she and her partner were here to save them from the Villain attack.

The mannequins giggled in their annoyingly automated tones and offered thanks to the Heroes – Ryo only stood in the background, an irritated scowl etched deep onto his face. "Now, let us make our way to the windows, shall we?" She smiled sweetly at them but when she turned back to look at her partner, her expression had been immediately replaced with a stare of distaste. "Kenshi-san, please escort two of these lovely girls and follow after me."

"Tch, who does this bitch think she is, ordering me around?" However, despite his grumbles, Ryo obliged and grabbed onto the hands of two robots albeit a little roughly. When they cried out in pain, Asuna whipped her head back to glare at him – he glowered right back at her but said nothing and made sure to hold onto them more gently.

However, instead of exiting the building and going towards the safety zone, she made her way to the ground floor windows.

"Where the hell are you going?!" he exclaimed, stopping midway in the entrance of the main floor.

Swallowing her irritation and the curses that hovered on her tongue, Asuna peppered her voice with patience and explained, "Would you kindly trust and follow me, Kenshi-san? I know a faster and more efficient way to transport the civilians outside this building."

"Whatever," he grumbled and continued following her. _'If this twin-tailed brat didn't have a decent Quirk, I'd have noped out of being her teammate the first second. Can't believe such a good Quirk was wasted on a person with such a shitty personality.'_

If Habiki had been there to read the thought flashing through his long-time acquaintance's mind, he definitely wouldn't have been able to hold back his chuckles.

"Now what?" the emerald-haired boy grumbled as soon as they reached one of the glass windows located in the wall break between two shops. Asuna felt another vein pop on her temple but raking in an additional deep breath, forced away her temper into a repressed corner of her emotions. Her gloved right hand crawled into her fanny pack and fetched out a long, rather curved piece of wood.

"Patience is a virtue, Kenshi-san," were the only words she uttered as she threw the wood piece towards the window – as soon as it broke through the glass, it expanded into a thick and long tree trunk that landed outside on the ground with a heaving thud. Kenshi barely kept his jaw from dropping but his dark eyes were stark wide, staring at the gigantic trunk that easily reached, and maybe even crossed, the safety zone 50 metres away.

Smirking with pleasure at her partner's awed eyes, Asuna pulled out three vines that she held delicately between her fingers. "Now, if you're done admiring," the contemptuousness in her voice immediately brought Ryo back to the harsh reality of who he was working with, "I'd appreciate it if you could lift the citizens up on the tree trunk, one . . . by . . . one."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Suzuran had only just nabbed her first hostage on the first floor when a mini earthquake seemed to shake the floor beneath her feet in tandem with the booming thud that echoed outside. Tiptoeing silently on her feet, she hovered to the edge of a window and peeked out, Jobu close at her heels.

"Looks like Nishiya's already at it!" the boy exclaimed with exhilaration while his partner stared at the large trunk outside with shocked worry. "Come on, Asagumo, we can't be left behind!" Patting her a little too harshly on the shoulder, the silver-haired boy ran ahead and immediately caught hold of a young mother and her toddler son. But Suzuran continued standing at the window, wanting to gain clearer insight into _how_ their opponents were actually working.

As she continued watching, she could hear the distant voices of the Heroes arguing about something but it seemed to be resolved soon enough. Even as Jobu rushed out and down the stairs with his kidnapped targets, she stood watching and her patience soon paid off.

Tiny palms pressed flat against the window sill, she watched as along the tree trunks, three teenage girl automatons were transported along the length of the trunk at moderate speed, heading straight towards the safety zone which lay at the other end of the trunk. _'But . . . how?'_ Focusing her gaze, Suzuran noticed that the automatons had thin vines wrapped around their waists and everything clicked – Asuna was using the vines to 'move' the targets to their destination at a much faster and efficient pace.

Gulping at this impeccably professional level of skill shown by the teenager, she couldn't help remembering her cold words.

' _Just don't get in our way and we won't come after you.'_

' _There's no chance,'_ the girl turned away from the window, dragging her only target along with her, _'that I'll even be able to scratch one of them in a straightforward fight. What Nishiya-san says is right – I shouldn't go after them and get caught up in unnecessary risks but do what only_ _ **I**_ _can do best.'_ Looking around her, she could see four other targets situated on the first floor.

After all that others had done to help her, she couldn't give up. She _wouldn't_ give up.

Suzuran wrote the kanji for **'manly'** on her palm, swallowed it and threw herself into action.

* * *

 **Student Name: Asuna Nishiya**

 **Quirk: Gardening**

 **Gardening allows Asuna to control, alter and modify an organic plant body whichever way she desires. She can increase or decrease sizes, strengthen textures, change the shapes of plants and do a wide variety of other things using her Quirk.**

 **P.S: Asuna is a national level flower-arranger.**

* * *

Jobu knew he wasn't a very smart teenager or an intelligent student but if there was one thing he prided himself on, it was his uncanny optimism and ability to power through any obstacle thrown his way.

Of course, he was not a fool either – he knew how vast the power and talent difference between him and the arrogant brunette girl was. His was a Quirk that was fairly two-dimensional in nature while the prodigious Asuna could probably use a hundred different ways of combat using her Gardening. He knew that in an all-out match, she would _most likely_ overpower him (the optimist in him screamed that there could be a cunning, but unfamiliar, way to beat her).

But Ryo Kenshi was different.

Ever since he'd first laid eyes on the male three weeks ago, seated in class like he owned the place, with feet sprawled on the table, chair leaning back half-tilted and a gaudy-covered manga in his hands, something about the tall boy had immediately put Jobu on alert. But remembering the promise he had made to his sister and their saviour, he was going to leave the rowdy life behind and try his best to be a model student at UA.

Of course, that notion went down the drain in five minutes when Ryo had the audacity to insult _Real Steel_ of all people.

' _I bet that guy doesn't have a single Hero he admires!'_ His thoughts were in a flurry as he rushed up the stairs to the first floor, Asuna's voice echoing from somewhere faraway, scolding her partner yet again. However, when he finally reached the top, he almost crashed into his own partner in a hurry.

"E-Eek!" Suzuran gave out a small shriek as she stopped herself from smashing into Jobu's chest, blushing heavily as she skittered back a few steps. "I-I-I-I-I-I'm so sorry!" she managed to sputter out, two spider legs covering her face. "I-I-I-I-I was in a hurry and . . . and . . .!"

Jobu, who had become motionless when he realised what had been taking the pink-haired girl so much time, broke out into a blinding grin and interrupted her mid-sentence.

"This is an amazing idea, Asagumo!" Peeking out a little from behind her spider legs, amethyst eyes full of surprise, Suzuran turned redder when the grey-haired boy encouragingly ruffled her hair. For in his absence, she had been following up on her own tactic of capture – rounding up five targets from the first floor, she had carefully spun a web of sticky thread around them to bind them together. And her spider legs had done the rest by effortlessly hoisting each target up as if they were plastic dolls.

Although the automatons whined in fear and shivered in the grip of her mutant appendages, she made sure to hold on with a delicately firm grip as to not bruise them in any way. "You're really smart, ya know?!" He continued praising the girl and she continued flaming up, refusing to take her eyes off the ground. "Alright, I can't slack off either!" Fired up suddenly, Jobu bunched his fists and ran to take a full round of the first floor, but not before yelling over his shoulder, "You keep going, Asagumo! I promise I'll catch up with ya!"

Staring after his running back for awhile, Suzuran lightly slapped her cheeks to gain composure of herself and with nimble and silent footsteps, raced off to her destination. But despite all the blood that had temporarily marred her cheeks and ears, there was a shy smile on her face. It felt nice to be complimented like that.

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 12:45 a.m. – U.A.)**

"Alright, you little shi- I mean, kids! Hold on tight and DON'T. LET. GO."

Ten more minutes and the simulation would be over. And so would this insufferable partnership.

' _Really . . . what_ _ **was**_ _I thinking?!'_ Asuna glared at Ryo's back as he slid down the crystal slide he had created with practiced ease, holding two scared young 'boys' in each arm. Although he'd done this two times already (build a slide of crystals outside a window ledge, skate down it, escort the civilians to the safety zone and climb back through the fire exit), she was always on the lookout for the slightest careless mistake on his part. Both of them had been methodically cleaning all the floors and were now on the fifth landing but hadn't met either of the Villain duo during all this.

"And I was sure that hay-brained clump of iron would be rushing at us within the first five minutes," she muttered under her breath, turning away from the window and venturing to survey the rest of the area. "Heh . . . looks like Asagumo-san has somehow managed to rein him in."

Having kept count, Asuna had full confidence that they had more than enough points to win – having saved a total of eighteen targets, with seven high-pointers thrown in, there was no need for them to do anymore. Even if Suzuran and Jobu did somehow showcase good teamwork and gave it their best, there was no way they could collect more points than them – while the former's Quirk was useful in their current situation, the latter was very much limited in terms of his Quirk versatility and control. Their victory, the prevalence of the Heroes, was assured.

Asuna sighed, arms crossed over her chest.

' _How dissatisfying.'_

She had wished to take on more powerful rivals – Inori being on top of her list, with the disillusioned Lamia and Fuma being good alternatives and even the missile boy and the freckled ginger would've been fun to pursue. Hell, even _Koji_ would've made her work harder.

"But noooooooo – instead, I get a loli with low self-esteem and a scrap iron boy who doesn't know when to give up!" she grumbled, irritation coursing her veins. Was Inori watching this? Was she having a good laugh at her pathetic situation? The brunette wanted to stamp her feet on the ground and break all the windows in the corridor but she had to keep her composure. There were teachers watching and besides-

The approaching footsteps, that'd been growing louder, jumped into the building and harshly pattered against the floor. "Fuck you, Nishiya," Ryo growled and even before she could turn back, she could already imagine the ugly, frustrated scowl on his face. "I'm done with following your orders like a lapdog and fooling around. We have enough points now, don't we?" He walked past her, hands shoved in the pockets of his leather pants and lips bared over gritted teeth. "The games are over now – I'm going to hunt down Jobu Jonetsu and make him swallow every single insult he's ever thrown at me. Even if I have to rip open his lips and force it down his food-pipe."

Although distaste welled up in her at his choice of words, she supposed she could let him play around for a little while. After all, he'd been uncharacteristically compliant and less abusive during their team-up than she'd expected him to be. "Just don't hurt Asagumo-san," she firmly intoned.

Kenshi gave her a final look over his shoulder before walking down the stairs – midnight blue eyes as cold as the freezing waters of the Arctic. "Sure . . . as long as that runt doesn't get in my way, that is."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jobu and Suzuran were on their way out with five other targets when they heard the brutish screams of Ryo echo down the hallways, yelling out the name of the former. Every few seconds, harsh footsteps would thunder on the floors above, running down marbled staircases. The rose-haired girl felt fear grip her and shudder through her thin legs – the boy was on a hunt, an animalistic predator obsessively looking for his prey.

"Looks like he's finally cracked." But the 'prey' did not have the slightest trace of fear marring his visage – instead, there was an amused tilt to the corner of his lips as they revealed traces of the sharp teeth within. Turning to Suzuran, he asked, "Do you mind going ahead with this kid?" Her eyes widened in alarm as he set down a snivelling automaton in the guise of a little girl, only a few inches shorter than the female Villain. "Will you be able to carry her?"

"Y-Yes I can . . . but . . ."

"Thanks, Asagumo!" Jobu waved at her, turning around to rush towards Kenshi. "Can't keep that hot-head waiting, ya know?"

Suzuran reached out her fingers towards him but even before she could call out, he had swerved behind one of the pillars and rushed towards the staircase, moving upwards to where the villainous Hero's voice echoed from. But reminding herself that she had other things to do, she carried the little automaton in her hands and rushed out, praying she would be fast enough to make it back in time.

' _I'm sorry, Nishiya-san . . . but this time, I cannot listen to you.'_

Meanwhile, as Jobu ran up the stairs with loud, excited strides, his heart pumped loudly within his chest. _'Kenshi . . . I'm finally going to beat the morals of a true Hero inside you!'_ "I'm here, you fake-haired bastard!" he bellowed as loudly as he could, the hollow walls carrying his deep voice far away.

And it was on the second floor that they finally reunited.

Strapping chests heaving up and down, the two boys stared at each other with shallow breaths, bodies poised to strike at the slightest opportunity. "You're late, scrap metal," Ryo gritted with a lopsided grin on his face as two thick shards of crystals begun edging out of his wrists. Asuna stood hawking the battle from a distance but had promised not to interfere between the two males – besides, she _was_ interested in seeing how things would play out. Despite having full knowledge about Kenshi Ryo's abhorrent personality and anger issues, his Quirk was one of those that'd most impressed her at the Quirk appreciation test, factoring as the major reason why she had chosen him as her partner.

"Sorry to make you wait, Crystallina." A vein popped on the taller boy's temple but he said nothing, channelling all his rage into his body. "But right now, I'm right here, ya know?" Bringing his fists into punching positions, Jobu had metamorphosed into his silver steel form, glinting faintly beneath the slivers of sunlight that entered the building.

Both teens did not miss the bloodlust in Ryo's voice. "FINALLY. FIGHTING."

The battle began in a sudden moment. It was the taller teen who moved first, leaping from his position towards Jobu and firing small and pointed crystal shards at him. The shorter boy brought up his right hand, 'hardened' the metallic skin and deflected the shards away. But during that time, Ryo had created a crystal dagger and thrown it at Jobu – the latter brought up both his arms to block it, the dagger creating an ear-splitting 'clang' as it hit the metal.

Although the blade toppled uselessly to the ground, it had succeeded in forming cracks a little above the orange-eyed boy's elbow.

' _This is gonna be all about endurance!'_ The same thought simultaneously flashed through their minds.

Ignoring the numb ache near his elbow, Jobu rushed with full speed towards Kenshi, softening the metal skin on his legs to allow him to run faster. He began heating up his palms, planning to use them to distract the other boy but Ryo began moving backwards, all the while firing crystal shards at him. Although he was able to deflect the first few as easily as before, the later ones began stinging his skin and scratching the metal.

"Che!" Jobu had to stop midway and extra-harden his arms to deal with the crystal shards, allowing Ryo to keep a significant amount of distance between them. Even while the shards, now bigger and tougher, kept the former's attention, the navy-eyed boy had begun forming a crystal pavement that edged from beneath his feet towards Jobu.

"Hey, fight me head o-Oww!" He had failed to notice in time until hard crystal had formed around his ankles, pinning him to the floor and stopping his movements. Even as Jobu tried to pull his feet out, the crystal's texture was too durable to easily get rid of and was only solidifying by the second.

"What's wrong, scrap metal?!" Ryo bared all his teeth in a blood-lusting grin, approaching the boy with sharp, crystalline daggers clawing out from the top of his palms. "Is Crystallina too much FOR YOU TO HANDLE?!" Jobu was barely able to react in time by bringing up his arms in order to block the daggers again but as Ryo applied pressure on them and began hardening them, they began cracking through his metallic skin, flakes of steel crumbling off.

"Not . . . AT ALL!" But he was able to push back the taller boy by jumping out, finally having freed his legs from the entrapping crystal by heating them up excessively and weakening the artificial gemstones. With some time and effort, his legs were free again and Kenshi was forced to pull back, looking immensely disappointed.

' _Tch . . . looks like I used too much of my Quirk while following Nishiya's commands.'_ Indeed, in making all those large slides, he had used up a lot of his stored reserves for Crystallization, apparent from the ravaging hunger that was tearing his stomach apart. But he was confident that even if his body wasn't in top condition, he could beat Jobu.

"Giving up so early, Kenshi?!" The metallic boy rushed at him, aiming a red hot fist at his face which the teen dodged by quickly tilting his neck and bringing up a hardened dagger to stab at Jobu's arm. However, the tip of the gemstone blade cracked a little due to the heated temperature of the metal and Ryo used the other dagger to slice through his opponent's stomach but, as expected, it succeeded only in creating a large rip in the black-and-orange jumpsuit. The metal that covered his stomach was enough to repel a slice from the blade.

However, Jobu was completely pissed off. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he yelled, not ceasing his relentless strikes. "I got my Hero suit only day before yesterday, you brute!" But he was forced to stop when another round of shards, bigger and harder than before, were shot at him. One of them was able to make a complete crack on his left cheek, revealing the tan skin underneath.

"Worry about yourself first, pig iron-brain!" Encouraged, Ryo moved close again, increasing the length and thickness of his crystal daggers to rage an intensely close onslaught on his opponent. But increasing the temperature and thickness of his arms, Jobu put up a defensive stance, launching offensive attacks whenever there was a break in the other's movements.

This went on for a few moments – each time one of the boys was becoming overwhelmed, they would feign a distraction and put up some distance between each other. Then, once the other was fully distracted, they would rush in for close combat. The cycle began to repeat itself so frequently that Asuna was beginning to get pissed off.

Five more minutes to go and the bomb would detonate, 'killing' all of them. _'I don't like breaking promises but there's nothing else I can do. Kenshi-san should've defeated him when he had the chance.'_ Unknown to the fighting boys, she fetched a medium-sized wooden stick from her fanny pack and aimed it at Jobu. A clean hit to the head would knock him out good.

' _This doesn't feel good but even Heroes have to bend low sometimes.'_ With a single, practiced flick of her wrist, the twig was flying towards the metal-bodied boy, aimed straight at the back of his head. During its launch, it expanded in size and transmuted into a round ball of wood, highly dense in substance.

Hard enough to knock Jobu out despite the metallic protection of his Quirk.

Ryo saw what she was doing and ceased his movements. "Nishiya, why you-!" The shorter boy turned to look over his shoulder but was too late to react, the wooden ball dangerously close for him to be able to dodge.

If not for the spider web that came flying out of nowhere, latched onto the sphere and pinned it to the floor, Jobu would've definitely acquired a concussion.

All three were frozen to their spots for a few seconds but once Asuna noticed the spider web, she was whipping her head around everywhere, eyes narrowed in pure anger in search of the perpetrator.

It could only be one person, after all.

' _Where the hell are you?!'_ However, there was no one in the wide space around them, not a single trace of any other living body on the second floor. But if not for the bare flicker of movement the corners of her eyes caught, she would've never guessed Suzuran's location.

"FOUND YOU!" The brunette threw another twig at the medium-sized pillar located at the right edge of the second floor, towards the staircase. As expected, a small, frightened squeak was heard and a pink-haired figure had jumped down from behind the pillar just as a giant trunk crashed into it, chipping away at a major part of the column.

"Asagumo/Asagumo-san!" Jobu and Asuna called out at the same time, shock and fury respectively tingeing their voices. Suzuran, who had quietly climbed up a pillar using her spider legs to sneakily watch the fight, was now traumatised and scared under everyone's gazes. She hadn't at all planned to interfere in the fight but when she saw the wooden ball headed straight for her teammate, her body had acted before her mind could. And that same body was now stilled with terror, her mind filled with images of the atrocious beating she was going to get from the 'Heroes.'

"I told you not to interfere!" Asuna screamed, further shocking the small girl. Her face was so dangerously contorted with anger she did not look like herself. "Why did you still come?!"

The disappointment and rage in those eyes was so painfully familiar . . . Suzuran had to fight to keep the tears from spilling.

"You have no right to scold her when you did the same, Nishiya!" Surprisingly, it was Ryo who spoke up next, seething at the actions of the brunette. As Asuna turned her glower towards him, he spat, "I fucking _told_ you not to interfere between me and Jobu! How _dare_ you do that!"

"Well, I'm 'so sorry' for interfering but it's _your_ fault for not being able to finish him off in time!" She was quick to retort, all the repressed anger finally exploding out. "I thought you'd actually be strong but boy, what a mistake!" She leaned in his direction, eyes blazing, cheeks red with resentment. "I would've been better off choosing Koji . . . or _anyone_ else!"

' _. . . What?'_ His own temper rising, Ryo threateningly stomped towards the girl, his fists clenched and ready to thrash her. "What . . . the fuck did you just say?" His voice was calm but filled with passive, all-swallowing rage. His pupils had contracted into tiny dots. ". . . Would you please repeat that?"

"Oi, calm down, both of ya!" Jobu rushed towards them, preparing to launch himself in their midst but a thick vine lashed at him and wrapped around his waist, throwing him to the ground.

"Jobu-san!" Suzuran cried out, her legs finally moving as she ran towards him.

"Once you're knocked out, all this bullshit will be done with."

The vapid look in her eyes signalled that Asuna had gone over the edge.

After that, everything transpired in a blur.

The brunette threw a small twig at her target but mid-air, it metamorphosed into a large log with several branches jutting out. They were thick, pointed and jagged, tipping into every direction and more than capable of penetrating through skin and flesh. And they were headed straight at everyone that stood in their path.

Having heated up his palms to a sufficient temperature, Jobu burned away the vines around him and scampered up, moving as quickly as his feet would take him. However, in her rage and impatience, Asuna had forgotten something.

Due to the size of the trunk and its branches, the attack was going to decimate Ryo and Suzuran as well. And the realisation of it finally made her snap back to her senses, horrified.

"DOD-!"

Suzuran stared at the tip of a branch that edged towards her, her body unmoving. It was too late, _far_ too late to do anything now. The gleaming wooden tips that would stake through her face in one strike . . . were too close to move away from.

The only image that flashed through her despondent mind was that of a beautiful woman – with blood-red lips and luscious fuchsia hair.

' _Mother . . . I'm so sorry . . .'_

' _. . . Till the end . . . I was a disappointment . . .'_

"MOVE, YOU DUMBASS!"

But before the huge branch could pierce through her small body, someone had crashed into her and pulled her within the confines of their muscular arms.

Tearful eyes snapped wide open as she felt sudden warmth crash through her entire body, pressing painfully into her muscles.

"FUCK!" Ryo cursed under his breath as he squeezed the little girl tightly against his chest, one arm wrapped around her waist and the other behind her head. As they rolled over harshly on the floor, his back smashed into the concrete ground, sending a stinging pain through his spine.

The trunk fell forward, its sharp branches missing both teens by centimetres. However, an additional stub that jutted out from its left side, struck the emerald-haired boy at the back of his head.

An excruciating throb tore his skull into two before fading away into a numb, blackening fade.

"KENSHI! ASAGUMO!" Jobu's metal punch shattered the tree stub into hundreds of splinters.

Asuna screamed.

But all that Ryo could register before his vision edged away were Suzuran's bawling amethyst pupils as they gazed up at him, her body safe in his embrace.

"Kenshi-san! _KENSHI-SAN!"_

He fell on top of her, body going completely limp.

" _ **KENSHI-SAN!"**_

* * *

 **ED 1 – No Title by Reol**

* * *

 **Inori: You look depressed.**

 **Pinky: TT-TT It's Valentine's day after tomorrow and as usual, I have no one to celebrate with . . .**

 **Inori: Just get a guy or a girl if you're so lonely and desperate.**

 **Pinky: No, I can't just get** _ **anyone!**_ **They have to be** _ **the one**_ **for me to genuinely like them! Fill my requirements!**

 **Inori: . . . You have requirements?**

 **Pinky: *w* Like every other girl, of course! They need to have an adorable smile, a cute face, a great body, amazing butt-kicking skills, a kind, intelligent and friendly personality, green hair, freckles or a croaky voice . . .**

 **Inori: . . . You're actually talking about Deku and Froppy, aren't you?**

 **Pinky: XD Ehehehehehe . . . You caught me! But anyway, for my lovely reviewers, who never fail to move me with their immense support for this story, I hope you get to share an amazing Valentine's Day with your lovers! Also, all the single peeps like me don't need to worry about being lonely! ;) You can enjoy an imaginary date with any one of your favourite characters from amongst our lovely Gen Z students!**

 **Inori: 'Imaginary' date?**

 **Pinky: In the words of Coleridge, 'Imagination is the living power and prime agent of all human perception.' Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!**


	15. Ch 14 - Courage-Strength

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 14 – Courage/Strength**

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 1:11 p.m. – U.A.)**

Through the shadows of her white curtains, Inori could pinpoint the exact moment when they rushed into the infirmary.

She could hear weakly suppressed sobbing from amongst the handful of indistinct figures that hovered over one of the beds, setting an unmoving body upon it. "Will he be alright?!" If she wasn't wrong, that was their class' loud hothead, Jonetsu Jobu yelling. "He'll be alright, right?! I know he'll be alright, ya know?!"

Then someone proceeded to hush him with a severe but inexpressive sentence and the boy went completely silent. However, the person who was sobbing couldn't seem to hold back their tears.

"Oh well, that's U.A. for you." Recovery Man was the one to utter the next sentence – she saw the redhead get up from beside the unconscious Akaname's bed, his tall figure momentarily passing from between the narrow gap in her curtains as he immediately began looking after the new student. _'Who is it?'_ The question raged in Inori's mind despite the aching burn on the right side of her body.

She wondered what would've actually happened if she _hadn't_ been able to break Kasai's gauntlet in time. Somehow, she had smashed it between her hard claws before the flames could spread irreversibly but, as a result, they'd eaten through much of her right arm and torso. However, if she hadn't done that, would they have still lived? Would the four of them have survived the explosion that took place? What would U.A. have done if a handful of students from its Hero course had actually died in a school-oriented activity? What would Hero society have done, losing children from one if its best schools to such a careless tragedy?

' _I . . . saved them.'_

Even if it was only a delusion, she wanted to believe in this delusion as long as she could – inhale its lies, assimilate its emotions, bury herself in its fake comfort.

' _I . . . saved_ _ **someone.**_ _'_

Then maybe . . . just _maybe_. . . she'd be able to forgive herself someday.

"Put him on this bed . . . gently . . . _gently_." Recovery Man moved as he issued orders and she saw him again through the slight gap in her curtains, soon followed by two male nurses who were carrying an unconscious boy on a stretcher. The brightly emerald faux hawk made her realise who the student was.

' _Asuna.'_ From the matchups, she could only think of one student who'd have been able to knock Ryo Kenshi out into deadbeat unconsciousness.

There were whispered conversations and the sound of flurried movements, of rustling clothes, movement of medical equipments and the sobbing which had now faded into bleak snivels. "Don't cry, Asagumo," Inori heard Jobu's voice again, awkward but soft. So it was Suzuran . . . but why was she crying?

' _If I didn't get burned I'd have been able to go and watch the rest of the matches along with Tejina.'_ Most of the students had gone back and it was only the majorly injured ones – _'Madou, Fujita, Shimizu, Hitori, me . . . and Kenshi,'_ she counted in her mind – who were kept back. But according to Recovery Man, they'd all be allowed to leave by the end of the day.

As the commotion outside somewhat settled down, Inori felt sleep tugging at the corner of her eyelids, the soft covers lulling her into a dreamless world of comfort. All the flying, sneaking around and the explosion at the end had eaten away at her energy – this had to be the first time after the entrance test that she had exerted herself so much. But a subtle disappointment sat in the corner of her mind . . . she'd be missing Kenio's performance for the second time. And a chance to see Enoshima Kazumi in action.

Her eyelids drooped.

' _. . . I hope you win against her, Kenio and Yuki . . .'_

* * *

An awkward silence had settled over the dimly lit observation room.

Deku and Tsukuyomi were somewhat at a loss, never having experienced such a situation before in their lives. While the former was experiencing his first time being a professional teacher, the latter had been taking classes in U.A. since the past six years but never had he come into contact with such a . . . _unique_ batch of students. Of course, since more than half of them were from completely unusual backgrounds, he had expected this year's class to be a bit more volatile and dangerous than the normal ones but _this_. . .

' _I wonder if our own teachers had to go through the same thing.'_ The same thought pervaded both their minds and they sighed, feeling sorry for all the trouble they'd caused during high school.

Eking out permission from Deku, Nishiya Asuna had left for home, her face completely pallid and her eyes unmoving and distant, refusing to take in her surroundings. He'd insisted on accompanying her but she'd refused with such conviction that the freckled adult had come to the realisation that any more prying would've completely _shattered_ the 15-year old.

' _I need to talk to Kamui Woods as soon as I get home.'_ He stuck the mental reminder to the forefront of his mind. But at the current moment, there were many other issues to deal with.

Suzuran was seated in a dark corner of the room, accompanied by Jobu, Kagami and Reiko who were trying to comfort her. But getting over the trauma of almost being hurt by a friend-

' _I was used to Kacchan's behaviour since our earliest childhood days.'_ Deku looked at the spider-legged girl with sympathetic eyes. _'But even then . . . it was always painful.'_

Tsukuyomi, realising the troubled state of his friend's mind, cleared his throat. "The winners of the fourth battle simulation are Asagumo and Jobu. Nishiya and Kenshi are disqualified due to disruptive teamwork." His words were brutal and final but spoken out of necessity.

"Congratulations, Asagumo!" Reiko softly patted the shorter girl on her shoulder, brightening her smile as much as she could to instil some positivity in the pink-haired girl. But Suzuran's small smile was so forced and her "Thank you" so strained and low that the blonde felt guilty for placing a happy expression on her face. Jobu looked like he was caught in the pathos between anger and sadness but unable to express them, bit his lower lip and clenched his fists till they turned stark white. Kagami looked at him worriedly but found herself unable to say anything.

No one in the room could celebrate the victory or console the loss.

"We will be continuing the battle simulation." It was Deku – determined, strong and invincible Deku – who lifted some spirits with his gentle voice and kind words.

' _They need it. These children_ _ **need**_ _it right now.'_

"I know what all of you have been through today has been taxing but along with all the stress and the pain, I'm sure we've all learnt some valuable lessons about ourselves and our comrades." All the teenage faces, young, sprightly and learning, let the image of the Symbol of Peace sink in with his words. "In the path of a Hero, both large and small obstructions will _always_ roll in our way but if we let these hiccups set us back, we will never be able to roll them out of _our_ way in time." And then there was the dazzling smile that split across the freckled cheeks, the very image of hope and assurance. "Because a Hero always finishes what he's begun."

A hand fisted towards the air. "To Plus Ultra!"

There was a penetrating silence for a few moments. The students gazed at each other before turning their gazes towards him.

And soon enough, thirteen other fists were thrown straight into the air, voices tensed but enthusiastic.

"TO PLUS ULTRA!"

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 1:30 p.m. – U.A.)**

 _He was lying on the floor, legs broken beyond movement, hands bereft of any strength to pick his body up. Shattered glass and broken marble tiles littered around his lean figure like petals dotted around a grave and blood gushed out from the many cuts impaled all over his skin._

" _You look like a lamb about to be butchered." The husky voice stabbed through his eardrums, uttered through brown lips which were licked by a long, forked tongue._

 _Kazumi's eyes were a cruel yellow as she stared down at him from her majestic height, her powerful tail inching closer and closer, the black tip reminiscent of an ebony lance that would strike straight through his heart and inch out of his spine. Her movements were slow, taunting as she edged towards him, sadistic amusement dancing in her eyes._

 _He tried to get up, he really did, but maybe it was the damn Medusa's paralysing gaze that had rendered him unmoving. Or the fear of her very figure looming over him, a beautiful monster waiting to strike out death._

" _Weak till the very last second. The world's biggest disappointment, ladies and gentlemen . . . Yuki Aisen."_

 _He didn't even have enough time to scream as the tail wrapped around him, squeezing until his bones cracked and his flesh exploded._

"TEAM 5, MOVE!"

". . . Eh?" As Deku's voice pulled Aisen back to reality, he watched as Kazumi, Yasu and Kenio immediately dashed through the open door, leaving him behind. He could only stare with wide, lost eyes for a few seconds until realisation finally kicked in and he sped off, kicking his heels as hard as he could, his light metallic armour clinking at the movements.

Haruka, earphones plugged in as he sat on a chair leaning against the back wall, mumbled, "This is gonna be a slaughter-fest."

Out on the simulation site, Kazumi and Yasu had already sped ahead and rounded to the back of the building while Kenio was forced to stop and look over his shoulder once he realised his blond teammate wasn't beside him. But fast on his feet, Aisen was soon to catch up, a little out of breath from his hurried running but nonetheless, flashed a jovial smile at the ginger.

Kenio patted him encouragingly on the shoulder before they took off again. To lift their spirits up, he cheered, "I know we can win, Yuki-kun! If we work together, we can do this!"

"To victory and beyond!" Aisen saluted even though he did not half-believe the words. Win against Enoshima Kazumi? With Yasu backing her up? The tall guy was a gentle person with a boomtastic sense of humour and a good friend of his but Aisen knew he wouldn't hold back in a battle.

However, the tiny optimist in him mentally berated him for his negative thoughts.

' _Giving up without even trying . . . didn't I just make a promise to Creati? Besides, what would Anya and Al say? What would_ _ **Lena**_ _say?'_ There were so many people he couldn't disappoint . . . hadn't he put on a brave face in front of Yasu and Inori during their punishment task? And he would just go ahead and embarrass himself in front of all of his classmates plus Deku _and_ Tsukuyomi?

' _Alright, then!'_ His legs kicked up harder, lavender eyes burning up. _'If I win, I'll buy Kingdom of Hearts 3 today itself! And if I lose . . . I'm not touching it_ _ **or any**_ _other videogame for a month! Cross my heart and hope to die!'_

Encouraged by the determined look that flared up in the blond's eyes, Kenio found himself grinning. _'That's the way to go, Yuki-kun!'_ "You remember the plan, right?" he asked Aisen as they ran inside through the back entrance, faced by the narrow corridor that led out into the wide ground floor of the mall and the central fountain visible in the distance.

"As well as I remember the layout of Castle Oblivion!" he replied, flashing a thumbs up. Although the freckled teen did not understand what the blond meant, the confident smile on his face was assuring in itself. Being the last Team to fight had a lot of pros and advantages but the only con was those advantages equally applied to the Villain team as well.

Without stopping or moving further into the mall, the duo changed their direction and immediately ran down the staircase leading down to the basement. Hawking all those battles had given Kenio a fair slew of ideas that would lead them to their victory even against the likes of their rather dangerous enemies.

An elderly couple and a trio of male delinquents were the only targets found in the dark, dimly lit basement. Prioritizing the former automatons, the Hero duo immediately jogged over to them, announcing they were to escort them to safety. "Bless you, youngsters!" The fusion of robotic monotony and old chattering made their voices appear distinctly odd but there was no time to waste on such details.

"Please hold on a second!" Stepping back, the ginger flexed his fingers, stretching the nimble digits in a short exercise before immediately setting them to work. Snapping his fingers, Aisen formed a small but bright globe of quivering golden flames to help Kenio see better in the dark. With full concentration, the taller boy began drawing shapes and colours in the air and as soon as they kissed the atmosphere, they began to take solid form and breathe into life.

Within a minute, a large shopping cart with a deep base stood ready and it was within this that Kenio and Aisen escorted and seated the couple. "Will those three fit, Nakamura?" the latter asked, pointing over his shoulder to the three delinquents.

Looking at the remaining space within the cart, he shook his head. "I'm afraid they're a little too large," the ginger replied, looking a little disappointed, "But I'm sure we can find a fitting target on the ground floor!" He was quick to cheer up.

They rushed towards the staircase, Aisen pushing the cart before him while Kenio ran ahead, painting a rising ascension floor over a part of the stairs for the wheeled cart. It was along this that the blond pressed the cart along, not stopping despite the forming ache in his lean arms and forcing himself ahead to keep pace. Soon enough, they were back into sunlight again as the entrance came into view, the metal wheels screeching as they scraped against the artificial floor.

As they emerged from the basement, Kenio turned back and nodded at Aisen. "Run straight ou-"

But before he could complete his sentence, a long, crimson snake tail whipped out in front of him, missing him only by inches as he drew back in reflex. However, it smashed against the nearby wall, making bits of plaster fly into the air.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

At the sound of the familiarly husky voice, Aisen's heart almost stopped beating and Kenio's eyes narrowed in irritation, the duo freezing in their places. At the other side of the doorway crawled Enoshima Kazumi, an amused smirk playing on her lips as she stared at them with glinting black slits. "However, I expected assssssss much from you, Nakamura-ssssssssan."

She was bigger, much bigger than her already Amazonian height, and Aisen was willing to bet his life she now towered at over 9 feet. However, due to her large size, she was unable to crawl in through the compact basement door and Kenio was quick to take advantage of that fact.

"Yuki-kun, move!" Within seconds he'd animated a dozen birds, small but sharp-beaked that flew towards the lamia with lightning fast wings. They were relentless as they threw themselves into attacking the redhead, pecking at her face, hair and arms, beaks aimed towards her eyes.

"Weak . . . REALLY WEAK!" However, using her tail and arms in tandem, she immediately destroyed half of them, splattering the colourful paint over her body and the floor. But some of them were quick to dodge and one of them was successful in attacking her right eye, eliciting a pained hiss from her.

"Go, Yuki-kun, go!" Kenio, however, wasn't about to watch his creations do all the work – in the time the birds had been distracting her, he'd painted thick steel armour over his torso and arms and immediately threw himself at Kazumi, trying to take her down. Although he was successful in only debilitating and pushing her back, the doorway was now free and despite his dangerously thundering heart, Aisen ran as fast as he could, refusing to look anywhere but straight ahead. Internally he was screaming but that didn't allow his legs to stop and he had soon dashed outside the building, towards the safety zone.

Although Kenio was glad the automatons were safe, he was dragged harshly back to reality when a powerful tail wrapped around his left ankle and lifted him upside down in the air. Clutching her hurt eye, Kazumi grinned madly at him and it was then that he realised what made her so fearful.

The amount of belief she had in herself and her Quirk could not be hampered by _anyone_.

"Clever but weak," she spat in his face, all of his birds now only small dabs of paint on her body. "Though I guess you weren't amongsssssst the Top 5 for your power."

' _. . . Huh?'_

But before he could reply to anything, he was being hurled to the ground, his back aimed straight to smash painfully against the floor. However, gaining his senses before his spine collided with the floor and painfully cracked, Kenio had enough time to animate a flat rubber floater that squeaked in protest as it cushioned his back. Grunting, Kazumi lifted him again in the air to throw him towards the ceiling but running on adrenaline, the freckled boy immediately painted a butter knife and stabbed it into her tail.

She yelped with shock at the sudden stinging pain and her loosening grip was enough for him to free his ankle and crash down on the floater. As a pained hiss escaped her lips, her hands grabbed the knife by its hilt and pulled it out with no hesitation, since it'd been unable to penetrate more than a few centimetres deep due to her tough snake scales. But during that time, Kenio had quickly drawn a pair of skates on his feet and jumping up, pulled away. She hurled her tail out to make another grab at him but a trio of badly shaped animals – who looked like a cross between mutts and cats – attacked her.

Within the seconds it took her to flatten them into paint, the ginger had made his escape.

"Sssssssneaky rat," she hissed, throwing the knife at the ground and watching it splatter into grey and black. But sooner or later, they had to return – if they wasted too much time, Yasu would've collected more than enough points and guaranteed them a victory.

And when they would, this time, she would go for the smaller mouse.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"She's definitely out for our blood now."

Aisen knew – he _knew_ from the very beginning – that Kazumi would begin hunting them the very moment the simulation began. But the idiot optimist in him had hoped that _maybe_ Yasu would be able to calm her a little.

' _Although, it IS Enoshima. Even the Buddha can't bring her peace and salvation.'_

"Do you think she's gonna go full psycho like Nishiya?" he couldn't help gulping as he asked the unspoken question and immediately hated the 'I think so' look that flitted into Kenio's eyes. Currently, they were crouched in the shadows outside the mall, standing against the edge of the back wall. For some reason, the lamia hadn't followed them outside but it was obvious that as soon as they entered through the back entrance, she would jump on them relentlessly and crush them with her tail.

As Aisen thought about the premonition he'd had before their fight, violent chills ran down his spine.

"But sitting here is costing us time and points," Kenio's eyebrows were knitted in an unfamiliar expression, something the blond had never seen on his friend before. "So there's no other choice – we _have_ to face her head-on."

The words were a tight slap across the other teen's face. "Are you crazy, Nakamura?!" he exclaimed, incredulous and shocked. But lowering his voice, he continued, "Head on against Enoshima and we'll be completely decimated! Look, I know your Quirk is versatile and strong but in terms of raw strength, there's just no chance!"

"Yuki-kun." Kenio, who'd been listening gravely, fixed Aisen with a serious look. "You mentioned your flames act as buffs, didn't you?"

"Yes, but-!" he couldn't believe the freckled ginger was actually planning to have a battle with her face-to-face. "Even then, it's _Enoshima_!"

"Everyone has a weakness, Yuki-kun." Coolly smiling at the blond, he stated, "If even the strongest Heroes have a weakness, I'm sure Enoshima-san has one as well."

There was complete silence between the two as they stared at each other, silence that quickly wasted away their time as determined orange clashed with unrelenting lavender. Aisen opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking for arguments, facts, _any_ word to refute the suicidal plan but . . .

 _( "You cannot let yourself be weighed down or overwhelmed by the difference in power. Even if the person you're facing is a beast in terms of combat, even the strongest animal has an Achilles' heel that can be exploited." )_

' _Hadn't I made an oath?'_

"Oh, fine!" Kenio clapped his hands in glee and beamed at his partner as the other boy sighed and scratched his head in exasperation. Standing up, Aisen yelled, "Let's just go and end this as soon as possible!"

* * *

 **Student Name: Yasu Hanransha**

 **Quirk: Bad Blood**

 **Bad Blood allows Yasu to shoot blood out of his eyes and mouth which is sticky, corrosive and acidic unlike normal blood. The fumes it gives off when melting substances are toxic and may cause nausea, dizziness, coughing etc.**

 **P.S: Despite his overwhelming, gangster-like appearance, Yasu is exemplary at all sorts of housework.**

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 1:41 p.m. – U.A.)**

"No, let go of me, Villain!" The 'little boy' kicked his arms and legs in slow, stiff movements, squirming in Yasu's arms. Although his words were automated, the tall blond couldn't help flinching at the title.

 _Villain._

' _As I thought, Fate just_ _ **doesn't**_ _like me.'_ To end up on the Villain team with Enoshima Kazumi as his partner . . . it was like he was getting some sort of karmic revenge for what'd happened in the past. Carrying two kids in each arm, he dashed down the stairs as fast as his long legs would allow. Sweat was trickling down his temple and accumulating at the base of his nape, his body covered in a thin layer of perspiration but there was no time to stop and rest.

Their victory depended on him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

' _Where are you going?'_

 _She only half-turned to glance at him over her shoulder and it was then that Yasu noticed how prominently crimson the scales that spanned over her cheeks and shoulder-blades had turned. 'I'm going to hunt down our little Heroesssssssss.' It was obvious she was teetering on the edge of impatience but since they were a team, she was forced to work along._

 _A small scowl spread underneath his silver muzzle. "Enoshima-san," he drawled, words slow but clear, "We're a team. We're supposed to work_ _ **together**_ _."_

 _The edges of her lips twitched in irritation. "I think it'd be much more efficient to divide our rolesssssss sssssso we can work quicker."_

 _What a load of bullshit, he thought to himself. All she wanted to do was strangle Nakamura and Yuki with her giant tail._

 _As she turned to slither away for the second time, he called out, "Is it really so important to you that you must jeopardise a class assignment to prove your superiority in power?"_

 _His words crawled under her skin like maggots but instead of lashing out, she merely turned back again and gave him a tight smile, stretched thin enough to break beneath the slightest pressure. "I am jeopardisssssssing nothing, Hanranssssssha . . ._ _ **san.**_ _In fact, I'm paving the road to our victory." She began moving forward, steadily growing taller with each crawl. "All_ _ **you**_ _have to do issssssss line behind me."_

 _Yasu watched her leave with silent eyes, knowing she was beyond anyone's words. But that didn't mean he could just sit back and let her do whatever she wished. If she wanted to be a hunter, let her be it._

 _He would be the saviour._

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

' _Well, I'm technically the Villain but I'm sure I'm a kinder Villain than Enoshima.'_ The afternoon sun was bright and warm, a sign of the hot summer that was to follow, and he wiped away the perspiration from his forehead as he let his legs rest for a few seconds near the Villains' van. During the last two of his runs, he hadn't passed by Kazumi even once while Aisen and Kenio had been invisible to him ever since the simulation had begun.

A terrible thought crossed his mind. What if Kazumi . . .?

' _I'm sure even_ _ **she**_ _wouldn't cross certain limits.'_ He tried to assure himself with those words but his heart couldn't calm down, especially when the events of the last battle replayed in his mind. Asuna had always been an egoistic brat but he could've never expected she would lose control of herself and violently attack her own classmates. Yasu was actually a little disappointed with the act since despite her rather non-ideal personality, she was a very skilled and intelligent girl but after all that-

 _A cruelly smiling Kazumi stared down at the twisted bodies of two painfully familiar boys._

He stopped short in the middle of the ground floor front entrance, feeling a cold sweat break out on his neck. But once he noted the time on the large central clock – a mere twelve minutes to go – he set to a running pace again, long legs stretching and contracting as fast as they could. He needed to catch more targets.

He rushed up to the second floor, slightly cursing the fact that he did not have a more suitable Quirk – like Shimamura or Tetsuya's – for the simulation battle. _'The ability to spit out corrosive blood . . . what a joy.'_ He was at a large disadvantage in this situation. He definitely could not discharge his blood carelessly – what if he permanently scarred one of his classmates or ended up killing a civilian? The thought that someone would be hurt because of him – _again_ – clawed at his nerves and it was hard keeping his thoughts in clear focus.

' _What if they aren't as fast as Kenshi or Jobu and I just-?'_

Thankfully, he spotted some good targets on the second floor and set to work. Threatening them, he grabbed the two pre-teen children of the shivering 'mother' and set off to his destination once again. But before he could set down the stairs:

"I musssssst give you credit for hard work . . . if nothing elssssssse."

He turned back to stare at Kazumi, mustard eyes widening. As the redhead crawled towards him with a sneer on her face, her slim fingers held a pair of white goggles between them.

' _. . . Those are Nakamura's.'_

Noticing his expression, she stared at the goggles in her hand and emitted a raucous giggle. "Oh, no need to look sssssssso traumatissssssed. The little rat and his moussssssse managed to run away before I could catch them." As if possible, her smirk turned even crueller. "I did manage to sssssssscrape them a little though."

'Scrape' them . . . Yasu did not like the violent way the word rolled off her forked tongue. But realising standing around and lecturing her would be no more than a waste of time, he swivelled around on his ankles and mumbled, "Just don't get too carried away, Enoshima-san."

However, he had only taken three steps forward before Kazumi's tail lashed forward, wrapped around his waist and dragged him towards her.

As the pre-teen automatons he was carrying were completely thrown away and crushed in the chaos, Yasu feared his thoughts had come true – Kazumi had lost it and was now attacking her own teammate. But it was only a few seconds later that he saw a large, flame-coated trapping net fall flat on the piece of ground he had been standing on only moments ago.

As soon as he'd balanced himself on his feet, Kazumi had launched forward furiously.

"Yuki-kun, go!" Both Kenio and Aisen emerged out from behind two pillars, the former throwing away a large, wide-barrelled gun he'd been holding. But what was distinct about them was the fact that both boys were shrouded in a cover of golden flames.

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Aisen bounced around like an energetic rabbit, springing with such lithe and nimble steps that Yasu thought he'd been possessed by the spirit of Bugs Bunny himself. Kazumi was silently furious as she whisked out her tail to grab the much smaller blonde but he dodged easily by jumping away, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Catch me if you can, Kaz!" he beamed, waving cheerfully at her.

' _. . . Kaz? Did he just give_ _ **Enoshima**_ _a_ _ **nickname**_ _?'_

As expected, the lamia looked none too pleased but instead of running her mouth, she seemed to be channelling all her rage through her body. Aisen whipped out his sword from his scabbard and immediately covered the blade with his golden flames.

Yasu thought he saw Kazumi hesitate for the tiniest moment but she threw herself into action within the next second. And realising he was only standing there like a mannequin, he followed after. After all, there was only one way to win the battle.

A direct showdown.

As soon as he noticed the tall blond headed his way, Kenio immediately began wildly drawing with his gloved fingers and Yasu kicked up his speed, planning to attack the ginger before he could complete. However, right as he was about to punch him in the face, a large dog jumped out of air and attached itself to him, sinking its sharp canines in his arm.

"Fuck!" He fell backwards under the mutt's heavy weight, its long and powerful forelegs pressed to his chest as it sunk its teeth deeper into his flesh, drawing blood. It was a large, sleek and strong breed, clearly fashioned after a Doberman and it took some time for Yasu to compose himself before he spat out his Bad Blood right in its eyes.

It howled in pain, stepping away as the corrosive liquid that burned through its eyeballs and parts of his face. He managed to throw it off and, reminding himself it was only a cartoonish replication, spat out a fountain of blood from his mouth and sprayed it all over the whining mutt. It ate away at its body and the paint began falling to the ground in clumps.

But even as it collapsed in a slump and coiled up, there was no time to rest.

Kenio rushed at Yasu, swinging a baseball bat wildly, with metal armour covering most of his body. Goggles were pulled over his eyes and even his wild hair was covered under the protection of a helmet – although the armour was incomplete in places and poorly drawn due to lack of time, it looked ready enough to temporarily withstand one or two spews of acidic blood.

However, it also greatly slowed down his movements and it was fairly easy to dodge the clumsy swing Kenio made at him. While keeping his distance, Yasu spurted out blood from his mouth – although the freckled boy did his best to avoid them, a few drops ended up falling on his armour and eating away at the metal.

Aisen, backed away by Kazumi, noticed Kenio's predicament and rushed to his side. Shifting his sword to one hand, he pressed the other to his partner's lower back and immediately, golden flames cloaked his body. Feeling new strength course through him, the ginger smiled at the blond and exclaimed, "That's just what I needed, Yuki-kun."

However, there was no time to reply as the redhead sweeped at their feet with her thick tail but they dodged it by timing a simultaneous jump. But as soon as they'd landed, she pulled back her tail muscles and retraced the tail sweep. This time, Aisen was able to dodge but Kenio was too slow and ended up tripping, falling flat on his face due to the weight of his body armour.

"Nakamura!" Aisen tried dragging him away but was forced to move back when Yasu spurted a fountain of blood at him. Even as Kenio tried to lift himself up, Kazumi was upon him in a blink – she pulled off his helmet with her right hand and crushed it between both palms, reducing it to grey splatters of paint. With his head still ringing, he tried to look up at her but his vision was unsteady and bleared the lines between reality and illusion. His blond teammate tried to help him but was kept away by Yasu firing blood from both his eyes and mouth.

"You've caussssssed me quite sssssssssome trouble, orange rat." She grabbed his askew ponytail and dragged him up, bending down so she could directly stare into his face. With her tail, she tightly bound his wrists so that he wouldn't be able to move his fingers, cutting off most blood supply to his palms. But even with his throbbing wrists, he didn't tear his gaze away from her and glared straight into her sulphuric eyes.

' _Her snake scales . . . they've expanded more over her skin.'_

"NAKAMURA!" Aisen swerved to Yasu's side, trying to reach his teammate by circling around the dirty blond Villain but thinking quickly, the latter focused a thick stream of blood to the concrete floor. Forcing his body to spit out as much liquid as it could, the intensity of the spray melted the marble tiles and Aisen ended up tripping on the small crater and crashed to the ground. His sword skidded a few feet away from him.

However, Yasu felt an overwhelming nausea override his emotions and he clamped a hand over his mouth, his legs shaking. His body felt incredibly weak due to the large quantity of blood it'd lost but he forced himself to keep standing and pushed rising vomit back down his throat. As his vision grew shaky, he slowly walked towards Aisen, who was completely still on the ground. The flames had flickered away from his body.

As the taller boy stood watching over his shorter classmate, for a moment, fear blitzed through him. _'Did I . . . hurt him so bad?'_ He leaned down to check if Aisen was still breathing.

And that was his biggest mistake.

"CAUGHT YOU, HANRANSHA!" The golden-haired teen jumped up on him with a tackle, lit up in flames as bright as his hair. Unable to keep his balance and feeling sickness overpower his nerves, Yasu was pushed on the ground by Aisen. He felt heat embalm his body, singeing, but not blistering his skin. This was a different heat, not like the raw and destructive flames Hitori used – but warm and hot enough only to lightly glaze through skin.

Meanwhile, Kazumi, who had been planning to have a little chat with her prey, sighed in disappointment. "Looksssssss like we'll have to converssssssse sssssssometime later, Nakamura," she mumbled with displease. "There wasssssss something I wanted to assssssk you but that'll jusssssst have to wait."

His eyes widened with questions but before he could open his mouth, he was spinning through the air and crashing down to the floor. He tried moving his fingers but there was a jittery numbness that'd paralysed them. The last thing he saw before he hit his head on the floor and passed out was Kazumi smiling at him.

"Next time . . . I hope we can face each other without any interference."

Aisen froze in his spot, a half-scream escaping his throat as he watched Kenio be hurled into the air and roughly collide with the floor, his head hitting the marble. And then, he was completely still.

Yasu, feeling some strength return to his body, got up on his feet. "Enoshima," he called out, voice even more raspy than usual. "We need to leave. There's not much time left."

"There'ssssssss no need to leave." Despite knowing she was crawling towards him, Aisen couldn't move. He could only stare at the motionless Kenio with unblinking eyes, sweat plastering his front bangs to his forehead.

His pupils only moved when he felt cold snake skin rest against his neck.

"We'll win before the bomb goes out."

There was a heavy, painful pressure that stamped into the back of his skull. And then, he was out.

* * *

 **(Friday, 6** **th** **May, 2:32 p.m. – U.A.)**

 _Heroes . . . the single goal all of us are aspiring towards._

Exhausted faces and wounded bodies swarmed around her, ready to slump over at any given time.

 _But for that . . . we need strength. Power. The weak cannot be 'Heroes.'_

Pushing themselves to their limits, straining every single muscle . . . and yet some of them fell short.

 _The weak are 'victims' – destined to be saved. The 'strong' are 'Heroes' – the ones destined to do the saving._

Inori watched all her classmates with silent eyes – there was a heavy numbness in the atmosphere. An unspoken competition they were slowly opening their eyes to.

 _But what if there aren't enough 'strong'? What if some of the strong do not want to be Heroes . . . but something else?_

Somewhere, in a decrepit building, waited a blue-haired man with his teeming subordinates. Waiting for a time to strike.

 _. . . Then who will protect the weak?_

Deku stepped forward, nervous but sympathetic under all the tired gazes. All of the nineteen children – wounded bodies and desolate souls – gazed at him with eyes that hadn't lost their fire.

Eyes that still flickered with flames of determination.

"Not all of you may have won." Now wasn't the time for grandiose lectures and opulent speeches but hard-hitting words the teenagers needed to listen to. "Some of you lost while the others took over the flag of victory but today . . . today, I saw a glimpse of a Hero in _each_ one of you."

Kasai clenched his fists on his lap; Suzuran longingly stared at the back of a silent Ryo; Jobu went into deep thought, mulling over Deku's words; Akaname sat as still as a statue; Kenio and Aisen exchanged hesitant glances; Kazumi sneered; Yasu stared at his classmates quietly.

Inori gazed at Deku, silver eyes absorbing every single image of him.

"And that's why, for today, I want you all to go home and rest without thinking about anything. Don't think about your mistakes, don't think about your slippages, don't think about what you did wrong. Just go home, climb into your bed, close your eyes and let yourself relax. All of you deserve rest, _need_ rest." He smiled sympathetically at them. "We can discuss everything else next week."

Everyone exchanged unsure glances but when some gazes met others, they pulled away with awkward severity. Some things were going to take time to recover.

As Inori got off her chair along with everyone else, she gave a final glance to Deku before leaving the room.

 _But as long as you're here . . . we don't need any other strong Hero._

 _. . . Right?_

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Koji: Hey there, kiddos, kiddies and non-children! This is your beloved Aizawa Koji reporting in! Check, check, the weather's perfectly fine here on Mars! Awwwwww, have you guys missed me? I've missed you all too! By the way, the first popularity poll of this story is finally up on Pinky-chan's profile so don't forget to vote, kay?**

 **Pinky: OI, KOJI! I'M THE HOST! Why're you stealing my slot?!**

 **Koji: Oh, sorry, Pinky-chan! XP It was just that you were so boring, dreary and backward that I thought I should liven things up a little! I totally didn't mean to offend you!**

 **Pinky: . . . :) You didn't now, did you?**

 **Koji: Not at all! XD Anyway, dear readers, please don't forget to vote on the poll and remember, all of you get two votes each! One of them is definitely for me, right? You can use the other one on whoever you want!**

 **Pinky: *brandishing machete* Get . . . off . . . my . . . chair . . .**

 **Koji: Woopsie daisy! X) Since I don't want to star in a Mirai Nikki season 2, I'll be skeedaddling now! See you guys later! *runs off***

 **Pinky: GET BACK HERE, AIZAWA KOJI!**


	16. Ch 15 - Breaking the Ice!

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 15 – Breaking The Ice!**

 **(Sunday, 8** **th** **May, 5:57 p.m. – Hanabi Street Cemetery)**

The fragrant lavender incense filled the twilight air with nostalgia and old memories. The cemetery was mostly empty, with only a handful of people standing before the grey tombstones they were visiting. But no one had recognised the two figures hovering before the lone tombstone situated at the edge of the field, a distance away from the collected graves laid out over the main burial grounds.

Laying a fresh batch of red hydrangeas on the grave and collecting the old bouquet to discard it later, Deku pulled his black baseball cap to shadow his face, biting his lip to hold back the tears. But, as they always did, thin streams pooled out his eyes and trickled down his cheeks.

Because whenever he visited this grave, he was not the strong, invincible Symbol of Peace . . . but the soft-hearted Hero, Midoriya Izuku.

"Don't you fucking cry now, Deku."

The other figure with him stood upright, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his rugged jeans and a grey beanie pulled over ashen blond hair. But Deku knew that the reason Katsuki always wore dark Aviators during his visits was because, behind the black frames, his eyes were tearing up too. Of course, Ground Zero would never let even a trace of such weakness creep over his façade.

"Sorry, Kacchan," he mumbled, quickly wiping away at his blurry eyes before he stood up. Sighing, but stating nothing in reply, Katsuki Bakugou bent down next and placed the white lilies he'd brought right next to the hydrangeas, controlled and emotionless in his movements. But only Deku – not even his wife – was the only witness of the faint shaking through his arms every time he placed something near the tombstone.

Even after they were done, the two adults continued standing before the grave until the sky was dominated by midnight blue and stars began glimmering, awake from their sleep. They continued standing until everyone else had left and they were the only figures in the empty cemetery, surrounded by the gravestones of the deceased.

"I wonder . . ." It was Deku who broke the heavy silence. "Why didn't he want the public to know?"

Katsuki took some time to reply, his mind wandering somewhere far away. "Beats me."

By this time, the cemetery caretaker – a hunched, male octogenarian – dawdled over to the duo and requested them to leave so he could lock up. Nodding, they slowly walked away from the grave, ambling through the main pathway. But before it could completely disappear from their sight, Deku turned back to glance at it one final time.

' _I'm sorry for leaving you alone again, All Might. But I promise I'll be back soon.'_

As Izuku and Katsuki strolled leisurely through the cemetery, leaving the graves, the caretaker and the tombstone behind them, they passed beneath the shade of looming maple trees. Although off days were much more common for them now compared to the 'Era of Terror', being amongst the top in their profession rarely let them enjoy such times. And the freckled adult couldn't even remember the last time he'd had a relaxed conversation with his oldest friend.

Unlike most times, however, it was Katsuki who spoke first. "How're the new students?"

Fifteen years ago, Deku would've flinched in shock if Kacchan had addressed him so casually. But as they'd grown up, they'd matured as individuals, and their relationship had undergone almost shocking developments. "An incredibly talented batch." He couldn't help the warm smile that blossomed on his face and the blond noted it. "They're all a little rough around the edges but all of them have the potential to be powerful Heroes."

The taller man snorted. "Heh, don't you say that about everyone?" Deku sputtered but before he could defend himself, Katsuki cut in, "But if the others are praising them so much as well, I guess you aren't exaggerating this time."

The olive-haired male shook his head. "I'm not, actually. I have seen a lot of powerful Hero students but this time . . . the students this time are really _quite_ something. Actually . . .," he briefly stopped but regained walking when he found the correct words. "If I had to say, they remind me a little of _our_ 1-A."

Removing his Aviators, Katsuki raised an eyebrow. "The 'Golden Batch', huh?" A smirk pulled up his lips. "We sure were a bunch of reckless meatheads. No other high schoolers in the history of Heroes took on as much shit as we did."

Deku silently agreed. It was during their high school years that the signs of the 'Great War' had first begun. But clenching his fists, he chased the thoughts away. He preferred not thinking about everything that had happened later.

"I won't let them go through what we did, Kacchan." His voice was soft and determined, almost carried away by the chilly breeze that suddenly brushed past them. But Katsuki heard it loud and clear and gave his companion a sidelong glance.

"If only things were that easy . . .," he muttered, hope and hesitation mingling in his words. They were nearing the old steel gates of the cemetery, the noisy city lying beyond the quiet of the tombstones and the shade of the dark trees. "Looks like even the 'Era of Peace' isn't gonna last long with some of the incidents that have been occurring."

Deku nodded to that. _'The incident in Shiguna neighbourhood, Graviton's escape from jail . . . it's all happening too consecutively . . .'_ Although no one had any solid proofs or theories, most of the Heroes smelled a conspiracy forming in the air.

"Well, not like I'm complaining since my muscles were tiring due to the lack of exercise." Katsuki chuckled harshly, cracking his knuckles and Deku offered him a reluctant smile. They walked out of the cemetery together and headed towards the small car park. "By the way, how's Round-face doing with the pregnancy? It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

His black Mustang and Izuku's blue Porsche were parked side-by-side and they leaned against the former car to continue their conversation. "She's in her third trimester now and both of them are doing just fine." The shorter male blushed as he spoke, rubbing the back of his head. A happy grin had lit up his whole face.

Ground Zero smirked at his expression, crossing his muscular arms over his equally thick chest. "All I can tell you is best of luck for what's about to follow." Deku immediately looked up in slight alarm at those words but his friend was already sliding into the driving seat of his car. "Although I'm sure Round-face won't be as weird as Tsu was, you're in for a tiring time, Deku."

"W-What do . . . do you mean, Kacchan?!" the confused male stuttered out, his level of alarm gradually increasing. But the blond had keyed his engine and shut the door – although he did roll down the passenger seat window.

"Just hang in there and you'll know," he leered, clearly enjoying his friend's flustered reactions. He switched on some heavy metal in his car player but remembering something, lowered the volume and called out to Izuku just before he could slide into his own car. "Oi, Deku."

He looked back. "Yes, Kacchan?"

With a rather sombre expression, the blond stated, "Look over Hitori for me."

Breaking into another of his signature warm smiles, Izuku nodded, "Of course." And, satisfied, Katsuki nodded at him before rolling up the windows and driving away, tires skidding over the gravelled pathway as they smoothly shifted to the levelled main road.

Watching until the black Mustang had disappeared from sight, falling in line with the other vehicles on Musutafu's streets, Deku leaned against his car for a while. Lost in thoughts the peace of the cemetery allowed, he gave one last, lingering look to the cemetery gates. As evening spread its wistful glow and painful memories blossomed in his mind, he sighed, got into his car, keyed the engine to life and sped away.

* * *

 **(Sunday, 8** **th** **May, 7:11 p.m. – Tetsuya Household)**

' _ **Where is Seijuro Nagi?'**_

' _ **Are the rumours about Team TENSHI's Brains, Seijuro Nagi's disappearance, true?'**_

' _ **BREAKING NEWS: Team Tenshi disbands! All five prodigies to go to different schools?! But where is Nagi in all this?'**_

' _ **Seijuro Nagi not been seen for months – police refuse to comment. Where has the TENSHI prodigy disappeared to?'**_

' _ **SEIJURO NAGI KIDNAPPED?! Citizens are still in shock over the sudden disappearance-'**_

"You know, reading them over and over again won't bring him back."

Before she could realise, she had thrown herself off the floor and lashed at the figure standing in the doorway, her right hand now a dark-scaled claw. But the young woman was quick to dodge on her nimble feet and with a skilled somersault, landed right on the springy bed. Even as Inori pulled her claws away from the gouged wooden door, she bared two sharp canines at the trespasser sneering at her, standing on her own bed.

"GET OUT KANADE."

Looking at her older sister was like looking in a mirror that showed her future self – both of them having inherited their father's tan skin and thick mass of black curls (although the older siblings' were neater and shorter, barely brushing to her shoulders) and their mother's steely grey eyes. They were twins separated by an eight year old age gap.

But Inori swore to herself she'd never smile so cruelly at _anyone_.

"Tut, tut, is that how you welcome your older sister, Princess Nori?" Kanade plopped down into a comfortable cross-legged position, all the while smiling like a satanic Cheshire cat. Folding up all the spread out newspapers and gathering them in her arms, Inori forced down all her rage and decided to put up a frosty wall of ignorance. "I don't even get a hug?"

 _( "Stay away from me, YOU DEMON." )_

"Shut the fuck up, you whiny woman-child," she spat, tying the papers together with nylon, roughly shoving them in a wide drawer located near her cupboard and locking it.

But instead of being the slightest bit offended, Kanade chuckled humorously at the insult. "It really _does_ soundfunny when you cuss with that emotionless voice of yours." Even while speaking, she managed to deftly dodge the large vase thrown at her head – it shattered into a thousand little pieces as it crashed into the wall.

"GET THE FUCK OUT." The 15-year old was breathing harshly, her knuckles stark white and shaking, teeth gritted. Resentment boiled in her grey eyes and unadulterated fury demanded to be let out of her body.

But fortunately, Tetsuya Kanade raised her hands in surrender before jumping down from the bed. "Alright, alright. I was just asked to call you down to dinner anyway." She lazily ambled to the front door, slowing down as she passed by her younger sister and smirked when she noted just how hard the other girl was trying to control all her rage.

Once she was out of the doorway, Kanade stopped still on her bare feet and drawled, "Hurry up, okay? Father wanted to have a little chat-" But the wooden door slammed shut before all the words could cross over.

' _. . . I want to die.'_

Inori keeled over on the carpeted floor, her palms tightly gripping either side of her head to numb the building headache that threatened to split it in two. She could feel vomit build up from deep within her stomach and try to explode out of her mouth but gulping in a large amount of oxygen, she forced it all back down. But hot, angry tears sprung to the corners of her eyes and her cranium felt like it was splitting into two.

' _. . . let me out . . .'_

"No . . .," she almost choked on her own saliva. "Not again . . ."

' _Let me out . . . LETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUT-'_

 _ **She smashed her forehead to the ground and blood began seeping out from the split gash**_.

' _ **LET ME OUT.'**_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Whenever all four members of the Tetsuya family reunited, the atmosphere would always garner a stifling and tense aura, palpable enough to be hacked through with an axe. And even though they were only enjoying an austerely silent dinner, tensions were high. So much so that the two maids who stood to attention in the dining room's corner felt choked by it.

"Mizore, pass me the butter."

The dining table was a twelve-seater and at the head sat a tall man in a prim and expensive Armani piece, the suit barely being able to restrain his bulking muscles. His wife, who occupied the seat directly to his right, silently passed him the small plate of butter with a gleaming knife placed beside the pale yellow slab.

The Tetsuya daughters sat side-by-side, Kanade occupying the first left seat beside her father and Inori seated right next to her. The latter wished that was the only thing her father would say but unfortunately, he seemed to be in the mood for a conversation that evening.

"How is the investigation on the Shiguna incident going, Kanade?"

Swallowing the ham slice in her mouth, the older daughter replied in a professional tone, "Not as satisfactory as we'd hoped, father. All the clues and the witnesses led to dead ends and there aren't any more leads left to follow."

Although nothing changed on his stony face, thick black eyebrows creased the tiniest bit and a disappointed expression occupied his cerulean eyes. "Every year, the quality deteriorates. No one knows what this 'New Generation of Heroes' is even up to . . ."

Inori felt heated nails rake over her at his comment. "It's only because of Deku-sensei and the others we can enjoy the 'Era of Peace'." Her knife sharply cut through the soft croissant on her plate – Kanade quickly pushed a spoon of mashed potatoes into her mouth to hold back her chuckle while Mizore quietly sipped her red wine.

Tetsuya Takashi only briefly glanced at his younger daughter. "And the lack of danger has only made society slovenly and irresponsible." The atmosphere in the room turned even more frigid. "The only reason the new 'Heroes' can enjoy this era is because of the sacrifices their predecessors have made for them." Inori's fork stopped moving. "Deku may be decent but he's not a spot on the power of the previous Symbol of Peace."

Kanade's amused smirk had split her face in two but no one had noticed. Mizore, however, shot her husband a warning glance, hinting he was straying too far. "Takashi-san . . ."

" **Deku-sensei is the best Symbol of Peace we can ever get.** "

The other two females paused at the unusually heavy voice that escaped from Inori's lips but Takashi continued nonchalantly enjoying his dinner, completely unfazed.

"Why don't you calm down a little, Inori?" Cerulean eyes turned towards the youngest daughter, glancing at her slowly blackening hands. "If you learned to keep your calm and act with a cool head, you wouldn't be covered in burn scars. Maybe your sensei should teach you that first."

"Takashi-san!"

Kanade almost spat out her food due to the chortle that escaped her.

Inori's pupils contracted until they were tiny silver dots.

 _ **She lunged at her father with a beastly growl, her claws wrapping around his throat as they both fell to the floor. Even as her mother screamed in the background and Kanade laughed, she ripped his neck and felt the hot blood spurt on her face.**_

" _ **DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE-"**_

The 15-year old pushed back her chair without another word and walked out of the dining room, even as Mizore called after her. "Inori, wait!" But when the girl made no motion of listening, the brunette got up and rushed after her.

Kanade, who was trying to hold back her breathless sniggers with her hands tightly clamped over her mouth, felt tears spring up to the corners of her eyes.

Tetsuya Takashi, cleanly slicing through the thick piece of ham on his plate, nodded satisfactorily at its taste. "The dinner's good today."

* * *

 **(Monday, 9** **th** **May, 11:32 a.m. – U.A.)**

' _. . . Even the classroom's no better.'_

Inori had always liked going to school ever since she met Erika and the others in middle school – it was a noisy, cheerful haven for her away from the choking, frosty silence of her empty house. And even though team TENSHI weren't together anymore, she had made new friends in high school . . . and reunited with some old ones.

But the atmosphere in her new class had turned stifling.

Even as Midnight conducted a lecture on the beginning of Hero society and about the appearance of the first Quirk user in China, Inori could clearly see more than half of the students weren't following it with their mind. Many of them had listless expressions on their faces and eyes that were somewhere far away from the atmosphere of the classroom. And on top of that-

Everyone seemed to be avoiding talking to each other for some reason.

When she'd walked in a few minutes before the beginning of homeroom, most people were seated at their own desks instead of loitering around in groups. Suzuran and Hoshi were not seated near Asuna, who had earphones plugged in to discourage people talking to her; the loudmouths Aisen and Jobu were incredibly quiet and lost deep in thought; Akaname had a sour aura surrounding him; and Reiko had just been lying on her desk with her head buried in her arms.

Kasai hadn't even come to school.

' _This won't do. This ABSOLUTELY won't do.'_ She clutched her pencil tightly in her fingers, staring down at her half-written notes. At this rate, the friendship and camaraderie of their class was sure to fly out the window. She knew the simulation battles had taken a lot out of everyone and many regrettable incidents _had_ occurred but things could not continue this way.

' _I HAVE to do something.'_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"So that's why I need your help, Hara."

' _TOO CLOSE!'_ Habiki subtly moved back a little on his chair to put some distance between him and Inori, who was staring right into his face with unflinching silver eyes, leaning forward with her arms placed on his desk. But as she realised she was invading his space, she immediately straightened herself and apologised, as deadpan as ever.

"No, no, don't worry about it," he smiled, waving off the apology. "So you want to do something that will resolve the current tensions between everyone and cheer them up?" He thoughtfully stroked his chin as he reflected the words in his mind.

"Yes."

"Hmmmmm . . . well, there's actually a rather easy way we can go about things." She blinked curiously at him, feeling assured at the smile on his face. Grinning at her, he winked, "Why not invite everyone on an outing together?"

A flashlight went off in her head.

"Hara," she gently gripped both his shoulders with her palms, looking at him so sombrely it seemed he'd just answered all of the questions she had wanted to ask life. "You're a genius."

"Eh . . . not really?"

* * *

 **Student Name: Reiko Shimamura**

 **Quirk: Ankle Wheels**

 **Reiko can grow motorbike wheels on either side of her ankles which allow her to travel at speeds around 45 km/hr. She can freely control the wheels to manoeuvre herself in any way she likes.**

 **P.S: Orange juice greatly increases Reiko's speed and she can even enter a 'nitro mode' for a few minutes if she consumes orange juice.**

* * *

 **(Monday, 9** **th** **May, 12:12 p.m. – U.A.)**

Once they were finally seated on a table with their lunch sets ready, Inori decided to unfold her plan.

"Everyone," as soon as she spoke, all of the six other faces on the table turned to her. "Let's go to the mall this Sunday."

Akaname almost spat out his green tea, Jigoku stared with amused eyes as he took a swig of his iced drink, Kenio and Aisen exchanged confused glances while Yasu looked subtly interested. Only Habiki continued quietly eating his Goya champuru while smiling to himself.

"Do you need to buy something, Inori-san?" Kenio was the first to venture as he placed his chicken sandwich on its plate. His voice and expression carried the puzzlement most of them were feeling.

Swallowing a spoonful of spicy curry, she placidly replied, "I want to go on a group date with everyone."

As Kenio goggled at her with incredulousness, Jigoku finally couldn't hold it in anymore and sniggered out loud. Akaname exclaimed, "A group date?! And who's _everyone_?!"

"All of class 1-A, of course." She replied as if she'd said the most natural thing in the world but the bespectacled boy looked like he was on the verge of cardiac arrest.

Jigoku was full out chortling now and even Yasu's shoulders were shaking in soundless laughter. But the latter ultimately replied, "Sure thing, Tetsuya-san. A group date sounds fun."

"Yep, you can count me in too!" Kenio spoke up, his eyes glittering with excitement. It'd been a long time since he'd gone on such an outing.

Smiling amusedly at the raven-haired girl, Jigoku softly said, "I guess I'll tag along as well."

As a satisfied glimmer erupted in Inori's silver eyes at the positive replies, a hesitant voice spoke up, "I'm sorry guys but . . . I already have some plans that day." Aisen was glancing around at everyone with a sheepish gaze and flushed cheeks. "I and Lena have a date planned this Sunday. And she gets really cranky if I cancel so-" He scratched his chin in guilt, unable to meet anyone's eyes.

"That's perfectly fine, Yuki-san," Habiki comfortingly patted him on the shoulder. "You don't have to apologise."

Inori nodded in agreement. "It's okay, Yuki. You can join us next time." He smiled weakly at her.

When all gazes turned to him, Akaname coolly took a sip of his green tea, closed his eyes and replied, "I'm afraid I can't make it as well. I have something important to do on that day."

Jigoku rolled his eyes. _'We all know the REAL reason you ain't coming . . .'_ But before he could lose control of his tongue, Habiki lightly tugged at his wrist as a warning to 'keep quiet.'

"Won't you be able to make it even for a couple of hours, Shimizu-san?" the short boy asked with hopeful eyes.

The pink-haired boy shook his head, not changing his serious expression. "I'm afraid not."

Habiki sighed and shrugged at Inori – she stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright, then," she announced in a slightly loud voice, placing both arms on either side of her plate. "So I, Hara, Kenio, Tejina and Hanransha will be going to the mall this Sunday." Nodding once again to herself, she mumbled, "Okay . . . that leaves thirteen more people to ask."

Kenio, who was about to bite into his sandwich, placed it down a second time. "Wait, Inori-san . . . are you _actually_ planning to invite the _whole class_?!"

She stared at him as if he'd asked the dumbest question ever. ". . . Duh."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"HELL YEAH! I'D LOVE TO COME ALONG, TETSUYA!"

As soon as they'd finished their lunch, Inori and Kenio had decided to hunt down the remainder of their classmates during lunch and ask them all. They'd found Jobu, Kagami, Reiko and Koji out in the courtyard, packed lunch boxes neatly tucked away on the soft grass beside them. The sunlight was warm and a fair breeze blew through the U.A. grounds, making the day pleasant.

"But colour me surprised," Reiko, who lay on the grass with her head placed on Kagami's thighs, grinned at Inori. "I'd never thought _you'd_ ask of all people, Tetsuya!"

Inori blinked at her. "I want to go on a group date with everyone."

Koji giggled at her sentence and springing up on his feet, swung an arm around her shoulders. "Ooooohhhh, I didn't know the Ice Princess had thawed enough to plan social gatherings!" Kenio stared at the familiar look that passed between the two and wondered, _'Do they know each other from somewhere?'_

Kagami, who had been watching all their interactions silently, felt herself grow a little uncomfortable as Inori's silver eyes rested on her. She'd always found the black-haired girl rather intimidating, having had full knowledge of her Quirk and reputation as the TENSHI 'Berserker' but after viewing her drastic transformation from a front row seat during the Quirk Apprehension test-

. . . Inori sort of _terrified_ her.

"Oi, Kita, you're coming, right?" Reiko sat up and smiled at her brightly, orange eyes optimistic as she removed stray grass blades from her shirt. It was then that she realised everyone else was looking at her expectantly, hoping she'd agree.

' _. . . Well, why not? It's a group outing, anyway.'_

"Sure." As she smiled and gave an affirmative nod, Jobu and Reiko cheered and exchanged a hi-five. Even Inori seemed to have a trace of satisfaction on her expressionless face.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mashiro slapped his palms together and apologetically bowed in front of the pair. "I'm sorry, Nori-chi, Keni-chi! But I promised to help daddy with work this Sunday."

Inori and Kenio had found their snow-haired friend wandering about the hallways and both of them had been fairly certain that he'd be more than glad to join them along. But even though he'd rejected their offer, both readily accepted it.

"Don't apologise, Shiro-san!" The ginger patted him on the shoulder, smiling. "We'll have many more such opportunities to hang out together!"

Nodding cheerfully, he suddenly had a sleazy smile flit on his pale face. "But why are you guys going on a group date?" At their confused expressions, he dropped his voice an octave and whispered, "You won't be able to spend quality time that way, you know. You both should go alone.~"

As soon as the meaning of Mashiro's words hit him, Kenio immediately broke out in a huge blush, his eyes widening and looking like they'd pop out of his face – Inori, on the other hand, looked more confused and her thick eyebrows had furrowed questioningly.

"S-S-SHIRO-SAN! Ple-ease don-don't say such-such things!"

". . . Why would I want to spend quality time with Kenio?"

Grinning at them mischievously, Mashiro patted the freckled male on his shoulder. "You should strike when the dough is still soft, Keni-chi! Grab your chance while you still have it!~" And before the hotly flushed ginger could sputter anything in his defence, the other boy had stepped back and skipped off, waving at them.

Watching as his figure disappeared around a corner, a thoughtful expression occupied Inori's face as she rubbed her chin between her thumb and index finger. "I really cannot understand Madou at times."

Patting down his heated cheeks, Kenio whined, "I cannot understand him most of the time!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **(Monday, 9** **th** **May, 12:58 p.m. – U.A)**

Lunch break had come to an end and she still hadn't approached them. At least for today, she'd lost all her chances.

' _I really am a pathetic person.'_ Sighing deeply to herself, Suzuran felt her lower lip quiver as she placed her head between her folded arms, seated on her desk at the back of the classroom. But raising her head a little, she peeked at Asuna seated two chairs away on the adjacent row. The brunette still had her earphones plugged in, her attention on some Victorian classic she was flipping through.

The rose-haired girl slowly pulled out two delicate peach envelopes placed under her desk and stared at them longingly. _'I want to hand these out to them but . . .'_

"Suzu-chi!~" A startling squeak escaped her when a hand tapped down on her shoulder. But once she noticed it was the smiling Hoshi, her figure relaxed.

"Oh, you're back, Fujita-san," the girl returned a weak smile of her own. Some days, as soon as Hoshi would finish eating lunch with her and Asuna (those days seemed a thing of the past even though they'd been sharing a table till Thursday), she would disappear somewhere and return minutes before after-lunch classes began. And every time they'd ask her, she'd giggle and reply her trademark, "My secret hideout~", line.

Hoshi nodded at her smaller friend's greeting but once she noticed the envelopes, she raised her eyebrows and asked, "You still haven't given them to Asu-chan and Kenshi-kun?"

Heating up scarlet at the sentence, Suzuran immediately turned her gaze to the floor and slowly shook her head. She was drowning in embarrassment even though she was the one who'd told her cerulean-haired friend about the handkerchiefs she'd embroidered as gifts for the brunette and the emerald-haired delinquent.

And, as if a part of some supernatural coincidence, the classroom door violently slid open and Ryo marched in, music blasting in his ears.

As soon as she caught sight of him, Suzuran felt a pleasant tightening in her chest – it was as if the sunlight illuminating the room had brightened and a gentle breeze brought in the intoxicating smell of cherry blossoms and roses from an Edenic garden. Her heart slowly increased its pace until it was thundering against her ribcage, its beating reverberating in her ears and pumping so much blood to her cheeks that she felt her face would melt off.

And then she remembered when he'd lost consciousness while protecting her, collapsing on top of her as a tree stump had slammed into his cranium.

' _And I . . . I haven't even properly thanked him for what he's done.'_ As he quietly sat down on his desk, crossed his legs up on the table, tilted back his chair and opened a manga, Suzuran kept replaying her weakness over and over in her mind. He could've _died_ because of her. It was because of _her_ that Asuna had become isolated in class. She had wished to apologise to the both of them for being so pathetically weak and useless and hope they'd forgive her but-

She couldn't even do that much.

"Suzu-chi?" She was brought out of her thoughts when Hoshi spoke to her, staring at her worriedly with amber eyes. "Are you okay?"

"S-Sorry, Fujita-san!" The girl sputtered out again, pushing the envelopes under her desk. The other students had begun filtering in as the bell signalling the end of lunch-break rang outside in the corridor. Present Mic soon walked in, loudly greeting (and grating) everyone and Hoshi waved to her friend before going up front to her own seat. Suzuran waved back at her and, for what she told herself would be the last time, stared at both Ryo and Asuna's backs. And then proceeded to place the envelopes inside her bag.

' _Tomorrow . . . I'll definitely give these to them tomorrow.'_

* * *

 **(Tuesday, 10** **th** **May, 8:54 a.m. – U.A.)**

Tightly gripping onto the straps of his backpack, Kasai peeked from behind the corridor – and when he noticed Reiko, Mashiro and Jobu loudly talking about something outside class, hid himself before they could notice.

' _I'll just . . . I'll just go inside a minute before homeroom starts.'_

Thinking so, he turned around to go and find a quiet corner where he could stay undetected but as soon he'd turned back, he was face-to-face with a very mischievously smiling boy.

"Why, good morning, Hitori-kun!" Koji eyed him jovially, like a child eyeing a particularly fun toy with gleeful eyes. As the cerise-eyed boy swallowed the lump that'd suddenly clotted in his throat, his classmate asked, "Where art thou yesterday?"

"Oh, umm," he tried to showcase a relaxed smile before realising that it was invisible under his respirator, "I . . . wasn't feeling too well."

Koji raised his eyebrows and it was from the grin that spread on his face that Kasai knew he hadn't bought the lie even a little bit. "Glad to see you're feeling up to the weather today! Talking about the weather, the heat sure is steadily rising, isn't it?"

Although he grinned with most of his teeth to prove his quip was only a joke, Kasai's eyes widened and he couldn't keep the hurt out of his voice when he whispered, "Excuse me." Clutching onto the straps of his bag, he sidestepped the green-haired boy and began walking in the opposite direction, ignoring him when he called out that classes were about to start.

"Hitori-kun, it was a joke! The first summer joke!"

But Kasai was preoccupied with too many thoughts to listen to him.

Of course, who would forget what had happened on Friday? That he had almost killed three of his classmates just because he had lost control because of some troubling memories? That he had badly burnt Tetsuya Inori? As he remembered how he'd lost his control and temper and triggered his gas, his hands began shaking, causing the stitches on his right hand to throb.

' _No one is . . . no one is gonna forgive me.'_ He could still vividly remember all the hateful glances, the looks of disgust, the faces distorted in fear that had haunted him all over the years. He lowered his head, walking quicker, trying to escape past ghosts – but no matter . . . no matter what, they'd always find him. They'd always find him and make him repeat his sins and stain his hands with blood.

He'd wanted high school to be different . . . he'd wanted to make friends, hang out with people, share conversations with his classmates. As he thought about how hard he and Hoshi had worked together at the entrance exams, how everyone had helped him prepare for the Quirk Apprehension test, how he'd been able to laugh along with people he could call 'friends' after so long-

' _I've destroyed it all again . . . destroyed it with my own hands.'_

"Hitori."

He didn't hear the heavy voice in time to stop himself and ended up walking into a figure of toned muscles. Gasping, Kasai's eyes snapped open to see he was face-to-face with a blanket of darkness – it was only after he'd skittered back that he realised he'd crashed into his mentor of all people.

"Where are you going?" The boy felt himself freeze underneath Tsukuyomi's impenetrable glance – with his long feathers fanning out behind his head, the crow-headed Hero appeared taller than he actually was. "Homeroom is about to begin."

"I-I apologise, sensei," the boy bowed forward, shame quickly encroaching upon him. "I shall get back to class immediately."

Nodding, Tsukuyomi waited until the boy straightened himself and followed him as they both made their way to class. Bracing himself for everyone's hate-filled gazes, he walked quietly until they'd finally reached 1-A.

' _I can endure this. For my goal of becoming a true Hero . . . I HAVE to endure this.'_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **(Tuesday, 10** **th** **May, 10:02 a.m. – UA)**

"Hitori, ya're okay, right?!"

"Hitori-kun, welcome back!~"

"Glad to see you decided to come today, Hitori!"

"Your arm seems to be much better! I'm relieved!"

' _. . . Why?'_

Kasai had to hold back the tears from springing to his eyes as he looked at all the friendly, smiling faces that had gathered around his desk, soon after homeroom had ended. All of them were speaking together at once, making it hard to string out their words but concern was visible on all of their faces.

' _Why? . . . Why isn't anyone looking at me with disgust . . . or fear?'_

"Guys, give him a little space, please," Habiki squeezed in from between the crowd, as placating as always.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Hey, Hitori, we aren't overwhelming you or something, right?"

Kasai was taken aback when Jobu placed a large, warm hand on his shoulder, beaming with all his sharp teeth in full view.

' _Why . . . is everyone smiling at me?'_

Jobu, Reiko, Kagami, Aisen, Kenio, Mashiro, Koji, Inori, Hoshi, Suzuran, Yasu, Habiki – more than half the class had crowded around him and, even though they made no direct allusions, he realised they were standing there as a testament of their full support. Their smiles said everything to him.

" _We don't hate you."_

Habiki's eyes widened in alarm when he noticed small drops of tears flicker to the corners of the blue-haired boy's eyes. "Hitori-san . . .?" Once they noted the worry in his voice and noticed their classmate's blurry eyes, looks of panic sprung up on their faces.

However, before they could say anything, a small titter escaped Kasai. As they looked on in confusion, he turned to all of them with lightly flushed cheeks – and even though his mouth was covered by his black respirator, the smile underneath was clear and illuminated by the sunrays that gleamed upon him from outside the window.

"Thank you, everyone. Thank you . . . so much."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **(Tuesday, 10** **th** **May, 3:21 a.m. – U.A.)**

"So that makes me, you, Hitori, Jobu, Shimamura, Hara, Kita, Fujita, Asagumo, Koji, Hanransha and Tejina – twelve of us. I'll ask the ones who aren't coming along once more on Friday."

Inori lowered her hands after she was done counting on them, increasing her pace as she and Kenio walked side-by-side. Since Yuzuriha was still recovering in the hospital, she rarely took the car back home but, if she was honest, walking back home with her new friends was a pleasant experience in itself. Besides, the brunt of summer wasn't upon them yet and she wanted to enjoy the tolerable sunshine as long as she could.

When she looked at Kenio, he was smiling at her. He chuckled at her arched eyebrows and shook his head, his long, messy ponytail moving in tandem. "It's just that . . . you're so different from when I'd first met you, Inori-san." When she continued staring, he elaborated, "I'd actually thought you would be the unsociable and aloof type but I was really wrong."

She turned her gaze at the fairly empty afternoon roads. "I was like that once upon a time but then . . . I met some people who changed me."

 _( "You're actually really lonely, aren't you?" )_

Kenio nodded in understanding to that. "Team TENSHI, right?" She gave two brief nods in reply. Facing ahead, he spoke in a lowered tone, "I'm actually really glad about what Shimizu-san said yesterday. I . . . didn't expect that. Especially since it involved Hitori-san."

Inori let her mind wander back to the events of yesterday afternoon, when classes had ended.

 _( "Guys, I have an announcement to make. So I'd like to request everyone to take a seat for only five minutes."_

 _It was right after Asuna had stalked out, closely following their last teacher for the day. Akaname stood behind the mentor's desk, both hands placed flat on its smooth surface as he gazed at his classmates unwaveringly – however, Kazumi and Ryo proceeded to walk out despite his request, not even glancing at the bespectacled boy as they went out of the door._

 _Taking a deep breath – either to suppress his irritation or to calm his nerves, Inori didn't know – Akaname massaged the bridge of his nose before looking at everyone again. They all stared at him intently, wondering and curious. "Thank you for staying," he said, almost breathlessly._

" _I know this is a difficult subject but I wanted to have a word with all of you regarding the battle simulation that happened on Friday." Immediately, a frigid atmosphere set into the room and unease was visible on the faces of most of the teenagers. Even Koji and Aisen did not make wisecracks at his sentence. Fully prepared, he begun speaking:_

" _I know that a lot of difficult things happened that day – a lot of us were wounded, both mentally and physically and despite our best tries . . . I know the crushing disappointment we all felt when we lost._ _ **I**_ _know that because I experienced it firsthand." Both Jigoku and Inori remained mostly impassive at his words. "But we can't let those events affect us like this."_

" _What do you want to say, Shimizu-san?" All heads turned back to look at Fuma – no one had expected him to speak up._

 _Akaname was silent for a few seconds. But once he'd regained his words, he continued, "What I mean to say to all of you is . . . we have all been affected by the negatives that occurred on that day. We have let our lost battles dictate our emotions . . ." Kenio looked away and hid his shaking knuckles under the desk. "What happened with Nishiya-san . . .,"_

 _Suzuran immediately turned her gaze down to her desk._

" _And the incident with Hitori-san . . .," his own voice quivered at those words but he sucked in a deep breath, unwilling to stop. "I know they were horrible, traumatic events but what I want you all to ponder upon is . . . they were mistakes. They might have transpired into big accidents but they were mistakes nonetheless." He leaned forward, voice rising with momentum. "We all know they never meant to turn out the way things did and I know we're not doing it on purpose but the truth is . . . we're letting our own negative emotions affect two of our classmates."_

 _Jobu felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. '. . . I never thought about it that way . . . does that mean Nishiya . . .?'_

" _I know it's hard to forget what happened but we're_ _ **all**_ _teenagers. Teenagers who are training to be successful Heroes. And if we let personal mistakes hamper our unity as a class . . . if we only focus on all the bad that's happened . . . then we might as well leave this career altogether!"_

 _Everyone leaned back in shock when his last words escaped him in loud intensity and even Akaname seemed to be a little embarrassed about it. But composing himself with a cough, he continued in a softer voice, "I just want to tell all of you that we shouldn't let such things affect the unity of our class. Ever since the first day, I . . . and I'm sure some more of you, have felt a bond with each other, blossoming in 1-A." Kenio, and some of the others, smiled as they nodded._

" _Even if we committed mistakes, we also learnt several important lessons and had new experiences, as Deku-sensei said. We fought, we tried, we won, we failed and we learned so much along the way." Everyone was nodding to his words now – even Haruka had plugged out his earphones and was staring at the pink-haired boy with full concentration. "And I want all of you to remember that, no matter what happens, we're a united class in the end – we're_ _ **1-A**_ _, students chosen out of a hundred more others to study in the country's best school and under the best Heroes and teachers. And I want all of us to be able to take away the positive even from the worst things that happen – and to never let anything hamper the unity we share."_

 _He stepped back and bowed. "So I request all of you – please . . . try to regain your spirits so we can have our fun class back again. Thank you."_

 _When the silence stretched on for too long, the bespectacled slowly raised himself up, wondering if he'd spoken too much. But as soon as he'd straightened himself, he was pulled into a hug by Mashiro, who rubbed his cheek against his own. "Aka-chi, I'm so proud of you and your cute speech!~"_

 _Jobu slapped him hard on the back, almost pushing out his glasses. "Shimizu, I thought you were an effeminate lad but you're one of the manliest men I've ever seen!"_

 _Koji chuckled, "You know what effeminate means, Jobu?"_

" _SHUT UP! I read sometimes, ya know?!"_

" _SHIMIZU!" Reiko was awarding him a standing ovation, comical tears flowing out of her eyes. "I'm gonna vote for you as class president for sure!"_

" _E-Eh?!" Akaname blushed at everyone's smothering, becoming as pink as his hair. "W-What did I even do . . .?"_

 _Yasu cupped his chin with a fisted palm as he stared at the flustered boy, doused in attention and everyone's praises. 'Now that I look at him carefully . . . he's pretty cute . . .'_

 _And just like that, class 1-A had started to regain its usual fervour. )_

"But it's pretty anticlimactic that Shimizu-san didn't greet Hitori-kun after his speech," Kenio muttered, a strained smile on his face.

Inori pondered over his words for a few minutes before replying. "It's okay, Kenio. Given some time, I'm sure he'll turn around."

"Nakamura-kun! Tetsuya-chan!~"

Turning around to the source of the bubbly voice, both teens saw Hoshi waving her arms and running towards them, followed by Kasai, Koji and Habiki. Once the small girl had stopped in front of them, she asked, "We're all planning to go to this new ice-cream parlour nearby that's opened just recently. Would you both like to come along?~"

Without skipping a beat, the duo replied, "Yes(!)"

Matching steps with Inori, Hoshi spoke, "Thank you so much for inviting me out to the mall this Sunday, Tetsuya-san!~" Stretching her arms, she giggled, "I've never hung out with so many friends before!~"

Koji sneered, "There's a lot of things you can do with 'a lot of friends' instead of just hanging out, Fujita-chan, you know?"

As Kenio and Habiki punched him on both arms at the same time, Hoshi blinked innocently at him. "What kinds of things?"

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, FUJITA-SAN!" The ginger and the black-haired boy exclaimed in unison, their cheeks flushed.

"Ehehehe, as I was saying-"

". . . Shut up, Koji."

As the six teenagers went on their way, engaged in the most arbitrary of conversations, an amber-eyed crow stared at their receding figures. Once they'd disappeared around a street corner, the crow tapped at a tiny black badge pinned to its front feathers.

"Boss, this is Ren."

The voice of a young male escaped its black beak.

". . . I have news."

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Pinky: Hmmmm, the poll has received many more votes than I thought it would! *strokes gigantic belly* A total of 26 voters . . . this makes Pinky happy!**

 **Haruka: . . . You have become obese.**

 **Pinky: But of course, kiddo! *burps* How could I waste all those delicious Valentine's chocolates Kaolyn-san and 3-chan sent me?**

 **Haruka: Your cholesterol level is dangerously high.**

 **Pinky: Doesn't matter. In this world, I'm invincible.**

 **Haruka: -_-; Okay . . . Just don't die before you finish the story. I wanna see it to the end.**

 **Pinky: Of course! Even if I die, I'll come back as a ghost and finish it! *looks away and chuckles awkwardly* Especially now that I have around a 100 chapters planned now . . .**

 **Haruka: . . .**

 **Pinky: A-ANYWAY, moving on! :D Thank you to all my amazing readers who voted for our beloved OCs – there have been a total of 52 votes cast which is an impressive amount!**

 **Haruka: How long is the poll gonna stay open?**

 **Pinky: Hmmm, I'm planning to close it on 19** **h** **March. I'm sure more or less, all the readers will have cast their votes by then. So before time runs out, don't forget to vote for your favourite! :D The top 5 will receive a "special prize"! See ya guys next Monday/Tuesday!**


	17. Ch 16 - Kidnapped!

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH &ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 16 – Kidnapped!**

 **(Saturday, 14** **th** **May, 10:31 p.m. – Nakamura Household)**

"Kenio! Its bedtime now!"

"I'll be done in two minutes, auntie!" The ginger called over his shoulder before turning his attention to the computer in his aunt's study room – even though he did not own a laptop or a PC in his own room, he was free to use the one that belonged to his aunt whenever he needed, provided she wasn't working on it. Once he logged out of the internet and shut down the device, he ran a look over the drawings he'd been working on and grinned with satisfaction.

' _Alright, they came out better than I thought they would! Now all that's left to do is to hand these Costume modifications to Power Loader-sensei on Monday!'_ He tucked his notebook and pencil under his arm and slipping his feet into sliders, got out of the swivel chair.

Nakamura Ekara switched off the lights in the kitchen and walked out into the corridor at the same time as her nephew, wiping her wet hands on a towel. Sometimes, it scared the 15-year old just how much she looked like his mother but it was to be expected since she _was_ her twin – the same long, wavy vermillion locks, laugh lines that jumped up to her face whenever her eyes lit up and an aura of optimistic, free-spirited happiness. Maybe the striking resemblance, both physical and spiritual, was what had made him cling to her as a depressed eleven-year old.

When she noticed the notebook in his hands, her eyes lit up with their semi-permanent brightness. "UA sure does keep one busy, huh?"

"He he, I can't afford to fall behind any of my classmates!" He rubbed his head, grinning sheepishly before it morphed into a despondent smile. "Well, even saying that, I did lose pretty badly at the Battle Simulation . . ."

Kazumi's cruel face as she smashed him to the floor would take some time before it would leave his mind.

A warm hand reached to cup his cheek and soon, the calming smell of lavender was filling the air, offering respite to his frayed nerves. "Kenio, if you keep looking back on it and focusing only on the loss, you won't be able to move forward, you know." He looked down at the softly encouraging smile on her face, a smile that had always been there to support him whenever he'd found himself staring into an abyss. "Work on the mistakes, sweetie, and next time, victory will be in your hands."

' _It's so difficult at times, though.'_

"I will, auntie. Thanks . . . and good night!" He made sure to keep the smile on his face extra light-hearted as he waved at her and walked into his room, locking the door after him. _'I have already bothered her enough, haven't I?'_ He still remembered how he had bawled after making it home the day of the battle simulation – how his mask of self-assurance had fractured. His aunt had patiently listened to him and held him in her arms, rubbing his head with comforting swirls as he tried to compose himself.

Even though she was the best relative one could ever ask for-

' _I miss them . . . I miss them so much.'_

 _( "Kenio! That's Iron Man, the green giant next to him is the Hulk and the red-haired lady in black is Black Widow!"_

 _Two large, warm hands wrapped around his tiny palms. Two smiles that meant the world to him. )_

He threw himself on his bed, arms and legs spread out as he stared listlessly at the ceiling, lost in memories of the past. It had been over four years but they continued to plague him, reminding him of the brutally unfair world he lived in. A world where peace and happiness were only temporary relapses from never-ending cycles of cruelty – a mirage that disappeared once you'd achieved contentment from it.

His left hand fell over the edge of his bed and, unthinkingly, painted lines dropped down to the wooden floor from his still digits. It was only when the movement of two chibi fingers caught his peripheral vision that Kenio turned his face to stare at them.

"Kenio! Kenio! That's Lemillion and beside him is Deku!"

Hollow orange eyes stared at the tiny cartoonish couple and their child as they pointed to the figurines placed up on his desk. The man from the couple had wild dark blue hair, orange eyes and a tall build while the woman's hair was long, wavy and orange and her rosy face was dusted with freckles.

And between them stood a small five-year old, holding onto each of their hands, staring up at the Hero figurines with brightly shining eyes.

When the child noticed Kenio and turned back to beam at him, he realised he was looking at a mirror from ten years in the past.

" _~I keep my ideals, sorezore no jinsei, ai mo yume mo kiken-"_

"W-Woah!" As soon as his concentration was broken, the little figures collapsed into splatters of paint staining the floor and the boy panicked as he reached for his phone, put away in the back-pocket of his shorts. The jingle vibrated in his hands until he quickly accepted the call, not having checked the caller's ID.

There was a pause for a few seconds before a slightly hesitant voice spoke up on the other side. ". . . Kenio?"

He recognised the emotionless voice in a heartbeat and for some reason, his face felt so hot he thought it was gonna explode. "I-Inori-san?" He repeated her name in a questioning tone before throwing his gaze to the Lemillion-themed wall clock above his bed – it was 10:40 at night.

' _W-Why is she calling me so late?! Could . . . could it be an emergency . . . or something?! Why am I get-ting so flustered?! AAAAAAAAAAHHH, WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!'_

"Yes, it's me, Tetsuya Inori. Good evening. I was just calling to make sure you're still on for the mall plan tomorrow."

As soon as her emotionless voice so professionally described the reason behind the late night call, all his hype fizzled out in cold smoke. "O-Oh," he muttered into the phone, feeling inexplicably disappointed for some reason. But realising the dreary tone in his voice, he piped, "Of course I'm coming! You can rest assured about me turning up!"

"That's good to know. By the way, I somehow managed to convince Shimizu to come along just a few minutes ago."

"E-Eh?! Really?!" Genuinely surprised, he rolled over to lie on his front. "How'd you do that?!"

She was quiet for a few seconds, pondering the question. "I don't know, to be honest. I only asked him why he wasn't coming and he was quiet for almost a full minute. But before I could disconnect, he said he could join us for a few hours."

"That makes me really, really happy!" The freckled teen gushed, pushing his face into a Lemillion-covered pillow. "Maybe Shimizu-san is finally turning around! It'd be so good if he and Hitori-kun could finally make amends!"

"It would. Well, we can only see how everything plays out tomorrow." After another pause, the raven-haired girl bid, "Alright then. Since I've confirmed what I had to, I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"Good night, Inori-san! And yeah, we'll see each other tomorrow!" He whispered, a hand cupped over his mouth. After a brief reply from her, the line disconnected.

As a contented sigh escaped his lips, Kenio stretched his arms out on either side and stared up at the ceiling, unable to wipe off the stupid grin on his face. The hollow tightness in his chest had been uplifted and for some unknown reason, a giddy feeling pooled in the bottom of his stomach.

Even if only for the briefest of moments, Inori made him forget all the sadness that burrowed inside his heart.

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 10:06 a.m. – Train Station)**

" _~Dreaming, ishi gyakusou, shikakui sora kokoro no sukima_

 _Umenu akenu yoru kara nukeyou_

 _Mirai no kaizudo~"_

"Nakamura-san."

As someone gently tapped his shoulder, Kenio pulled out his earphones and swerved around to face the person.

"Oh, Hitori-kun, good morning!" He smiled at the slightly shorter boy, who, except his usual blue-and-white respirator, was wearing rather different clothes than what he'd expected to see him in. "Woah, that's a really cool T-shirt! I like!"

"Thank you." Kenio was sure Kasai had a slight blush under the confines of his respirator as he sheepishly rubbed his head. But the Ground Zero T-shirt, with its themes of black and red, looked really good on the blue-haired boy. The ginger wondered if he should have put some more effort into his outfit instead of just throwing on a short-sleeved, high neck Astro Boy tee.

However, before he could dwell much on it, their train had arrived and both boys climbed aboard before quickly hunting down two seats and settling down. Thankfully, there was no weekday rush of people running off to school or work so they didn't have to cramp for space.

"I didn't know you were a Ground Zero fan, Hitori-kun!" Kenio clipped and tucked his earphones into the pockets of his corduroys as he smiled at his quiet classmate.

And suddenly, without a warning, it was like a switch had been flipped inside the usually reserved boy.

"I'm actually a huge, huge, HUGE fan of Ground Zero!" The ginger was almost taken aback at the sparkle that burned through Kasai's eyes at the mention of the ash blond Hero. "I know there are many who think he's unnecessarily cocky, arrogant, brash, rude and short-tempered but that is actually not the case! The real Ground Zero, or Bakugou Katsuki-san, is a really earnest, caring and kind Hero! Deku-sensei is amazing, no doubt but if you really ponder on it, you can see that Ground Zero is actually the best Hero in Japan! And there are a various number of reasons for it which I can prove to you, Nakamura-san!"

"U-Umm, okay, I get it, I get it!" Kenio put up both his hands as a defence mechanism because during his gushing, Kasai had actually leaned right into his face. With his sparkling cerise eyes burning with admiration for his idol and the look of intense belief in the No. 2 Hero's abilities, the ginger realised he'd unlocked a new side to his reserved classmate.

"A-Ah, I-I'm sorry!" Kasai shrunk away and stared down at the floor in sheepish panic, rubbing his knuckles together when he grasped the fact that he'd just been unnecessarily babbling. "I-It's just that . . . I . . . I get really passionate while talking about Ground Zero." He was pink with embarrassment.

"No, no, that's really alright, Hitori-kun!" Kenio began waving his hands around in panic that he'd upset the blue-haired teen. When the other boy looked abashedly at him, he exclaimed, "Please don't apologise! Even I admire Lemillion a lot so I completely understand your feelings of idolisation towards Ground Zero!" Slowly, the shyness began fading from Kasai's face and was replaced with a look of relief. "My mom always told me you should never apologise for your passions!"

A soft chuckle escaped him. "Your mother sounds like a wonderful person, Nakamura-san."

The words tugged at a painful string in Kenio's heart but he made sure to smile as brightly as he could at the compliment. "I know, right?!"

And both boys proceeded to chat throughout the train ride, exchanging their views on professional Heroes, Quirks, school and what kind of Hero careers they wanted to pursue. They completely skipped over questions on each other's personal life but were subconsciously thankful about the fact – and, marvelling at how quickly time had passed, they'd reached their designated station.

As they walked through the semi-crowded platform to the escalator, a tense stiffness seemed to suddenly plague Kasai's body. "Nakamura-san," Kenio turned back to look at his companion, who was gazing at him with creased brows, "Is . . . is Shimizu-san really coming?"

The ginger was confused by the question for a few seconds before it hit him. It was no mystery to most of the class that Akaname did not like Kasai and, after the events of the battle simulation, his caustic ignorance of his very existence had only escalated. It'd been the bespectacled boy himself who had given the moving speech of accepting their classmates and forgiving whatever mistakes had occurred between them all but then, he had proceeded to blatantly ignore Kasai after all.

"You don't need to worry, Hitori-kun! I-I'm sure it'll be alright!" His voice didn't sound all too convincing, even to himself. But nonetheless, Kasai nodded in appreciation.

As they stepped off the escalator and proceeded to the station exit, he spoke, "It's just that . . . I don't know what I've done to make him hate me so much." He was trying not to show how disheartened he felt but Kenio could easily see through the fragile mask he was creating. "I mean, if I knew what it was, I'd try my best to rectify my mistake. But Shimizu-san . . . he doesn't even look at me anymore . . ."

As Kasai's shoulders quivered and his voice dropped to a whisper, Kenio searched for words of comfort to ease the boy. But just as he opened his mouth, a familiar voice yelled from behind them, "NAKAMURA! HITORI!"

Both boys turned back and saw Reiko wheeling towards them on her ankle skates, followed by a sprinting Kagami, a waving Koji and Habiki who looked like he was barely keeping up pace with the rest. Kenio noticed how quickly Kasai composed himself just as the blonde skidded to a stop right in front of them. "Wassup, my homies?!" she hi-fived both of them and regressed down to her original height as her Ankle Wheels folded back into her feet.

"Jello, everyone! Do you guys want some jellies?" Koji grinned, walking up to them with a colourful plastic bottle. Kenio popped one in his mouth but Kasai declined. After everyone was done exchanging greetings, they began walking together to their collective destination.

Looking around at his unfamiliar surroundings, the vermillion-haired boy mumbled, "This is my first time in this part of Musutafu . . . Is the mall somewhere around here?" The area looked significantly posh and the teens caught sight of many expensive cars racing down the wide highways. Expensive restaurants, skyscraper offices and elegant cafes dotted each intersection they passed.

"It's a fifteen minute walk from the train station so we should be reaching pretty soon," Habiki supplied, being the one nearest Kenio. The black-haired boy fetched out his cell phone and once he'd scrolled through the screen, commented, "Tetsuya-san just texted me. Everyone else has already reached and are waiting for us near the front entry gate."

Reiko suddenly stopped and turned to everyone with excited eyes. "Guys! What about a-"

"No more races, Reiko-san," Kagami firmly replied, passing by the blonde and walking straight ahead.

"Mou, Kagami, how'd you know what I was gonna ask?!" she pouted and stomped down her feet.

"Because you're an open book, Shimamura-chan," Koji smirked as he passed by her as well. Her jaw dropped at the sentence as she wondered if it was really that easy to read her – but he turned back mid-step and stuck his tongue out at her. "Besides, you've asked for a race three times already."

"Then just say that, Aizawa!"

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 10:37 a.m. – The Mall)**

"Oi! You guys are late, ya know?!"

The first person the group of six noticed upon nearing the exit was Jobu, waving excitedly at them with all his shark teeth flashing in a big grin. His unruly silver hair had been tamed for the day by a garishly red snapback he'd put on backwards, a match with the knee-length shorts and sleeveless red jersey he was dressed in.

"Don't you know it's a trending code amongst teenagers to be at least a few minutes late, Jobu-kun?" Koji gasped, his eyes wide and horrified at the prospect of his classmate not knowing something so important. "It's common knowledge amongst all teens of a respectable intellect and knowledge!"

"What?! Really?!"

' _As expected, he caught the bait,'_ the others mentally sighed in exasperation. Jobu looked genuinely crestfallen at the piece of news and the contemptuous glance with which the green-haired boy stared at him. "How could I not have known . . ."

"Jobu-san was actually the first one to reach so don't tease him, Aizawa-san." Yasu came to his classmate's rescue, holding a chocolate and a vanilla ice cream cone in each of his hands. He handed the chocolate to Jobu (who considerably brightened) and the vanilla to Koji, who mischievously grinned at the much taller boy.

"We're sorry to have kept you all waiting," Habiki flashed his signature smile of charismatic placation. "Did you have to wait for long, Jobu-san?"

"Ah, don't worry, it ain't no biggie!" The orange-eyed boy grinned back, trying to lick the chocolate dripping down his wrist. "Since this is my first time hanging out with so many people, I was excited so I ended up reaching at 10:00 a.m.!"

' _THAT'S 30 MINUTES EARLY TO THE MEETING TIME!'_ Everyone gazed with awe at the oblivious boy, blissfully lost in the taste of cold, creamy chocolate.

"Good morning, everyone!~" Hoshi soon appeared on the scene, dressed in an adorable yellow dress that flowed around her knees. She too held a strawberry and a vanilla ice cream cone in either of her hands. Suzuran followed meekly after her, holding two differently flavoured cones as well, and greeted everyone in a barely audible voice.

As they offered one cone each to Reiko and Kagami, the latter asked, "Thank you . . . but why're you giving us ice cream?"

With slightly flushed cheeks, Suzuran replied, "Tetsu-suya-san is treating everyone to ice-ice cream as a thank you for . . . for coming today."

"I didn't know Tetsuya was such a kind soul!" Reiko seemed all too happy as she licked her strawberry cone. "Thank you, Tetsuya, wherever you are!"

It was then that Kenio realised that his raven-haired friend wasn't at the scene, along with some of the others. Kasai softly said, "She didn't need to buy us ice cream or thank us in anyway . . ."

"Well, who knows what goes on in her mind." Jigoku appeared from the same place Hoshi and Suzuran had walked from and it was then that Kenio realised that near the fountain, situated in the mall's courtyard, was an ice-cream stand. He had only caught a glance of curly black hair before the lilac-skinned boy stopped before him and held a butterscotch cone in front of his face.

"Thank you, Tejina-san," the ginger carefully took it, making sure to not hold the delicate cone with too firm a grip. Yasu mumbled something about getting cones for the rest before walking off, followed by Jigoku. Kenio, meanwhile, stared at Inori's back in the distance and noticed she and Akaname were standing near the ice cream store.

"It's only the thirteen of us?" Kagami's subtly wistful voice broke through the lingering silence brought on by everyone focusing on their ice cream.

It was Habiki who replied. "Madou-san is supposed to help his dad with his work today," her lips turned down at the news (all to the raven-head's notice), "and Yuki-san is on a date. And the other five . . . well . . . you know what they're like." As the short boy awkwardly smiled, everyone nodded agreeably. Even thinking that Fuma, Haruka, Asuna, Kazumi or Ryo would join them seemed to be a distant dream. Or more aptly put, a nightmare.

Finally, the other four turned up and once everyone had an ice cream cone in hand, Inori spoke up. "I know I was the one who invited you all but I will be passing the baton of leadership for this outing to Shimizu."

The bespectacled boy almost spat out his two-in-one and quickly dabbed at any drops of ice cream that could have spilled on his green tracksuit. "Tetsuya-san, you can't just . . .!" But when she only stared challengingly at him, eyes completely emotionless, he sighed and exclaimed, "Oh, fine! Fine!" Licking his ice cream, he looked around at his classmates. "So is there anything anyone wants to particularly do?"

"GAMING ARCADE!" Reiko, Jobu and Koji hollered at the same time.

"I kinda wanted to check out the bookstore here since I've heard it has an amazing collection," Habiki stated.

"There's this really good horror movie on right now," Inori muttered. " _Nightmare on Halloween: The 13_ _th_ _Conjuring_."

"I heard there's a sale going on in Walmart so I want to check it out," Yasu quipped.

"I and Suzu-chi were thinking of going shopping for a bit!~" Hoshi smiled, grabbing her friend's hand and raising it up, much to the other's embarrassment.

"There's a really good coffee shop here which makes amazing cappuccinos. We should go there," Kagami quickly stated, not wanting to be left behind.

However, once everyone realised that their interests collided, they began glaring at each other with challenging eyes.

"Coffee shop?! Bookstore?! We're fifteen, grandma and grandpa!"

"Exactly. We're _fifteen_ – not _ten_."

". . . What are you gonna buy in _Walmart_?"

"Anything but shopping! Trips with my sister are horrifying enough!"

"That horror movie sounds sketchy as hell!"

"Well, you need a decent IQ to grasp its artistic value, so I don't blame you for not having enough perception."

". . . Did you just indirectly call me stupid?"

Unable to take the slowly rising medley of voices, Akaname pushed himself into the middle of the group and yelled, "CALM DOWN, ALL OF YOU! Is this behaviour fitting of U.A. students?!" Surprisingly, all of them did stop speaking but stared tacitly at him for interfering. Clearing his throat, he spoke in a lower but firmer voice, "We have more than enough time. As long as we go ahead with a concrete plan in mind, we should be able to cover everyone's areas."

Yasu gazed at the pink-haired boy with something akin to admiration in his mustard eyes.

"First of all, we shall go and watch the movie Tetsuya-san suggested. Then, we could eat lunch and visit the gaming arcade. After that, we'll divide ourselves into three groups – the ones who want to go to Walmart, the ones up for shopping and the ones who want to visit the bookstore. And finally, we'll convene at the coffee shop Kita-san suggests before leaving." Looking satisfied with himself, Akaname nodded at everyone, "Does anyone have any suggestions or rebuttals?"

Almost everyone echoed simultaneously, "Not at all, President!"

"Pre- _President_ . . .?!"

* * *

 **Student Name: Kagami Kita**

 **Quirk: Enigma**

 **Enigma allows Kagami to bind anything she touches with a coded lock that can be only unlocked in one of three ways. Massive firepower, the correct code and dismantling by the Quirk user are the only ways to break off the lock.**

 **P.S: Kagami's teeth get a terrible ache if she eats something too sweet.**

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 1:16 p.m. – The Mall)**

"Asagumo-san, are you alright?!"

Jobu, Hoshi and Kagami were fervently trying to calm the shaking pink-haired girl whose eyes had rolled back into her head. Goosebumps dotted her arms and legs as she tightly clung to her sapphire-haired friend, incapable of responding. Even as Kagami patted her head and Hoshi whispered comforting words about how everything "wasn't real" and that it was "just a movie", she couldn't forget all the horrifying scenes that had been branded in her mind.

And then, she suddenly felt hot breath wash over her right ear.

" **I . . . am Jason.** "

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"

A bloodcurdling scream escaped Suzuran and without even turning back, all of her spider legs had picked up and thrown the person behind her in the air. Everyone watched with unhinged jaws as Koji was launched towards the ceiling, flew all the way from one end of the movie hall to the other and crashed into the wall behind the nachos counter.

Feeling embarrassed at all the annoyed stares their group was receiving, Kasai covered his reddening face. Inori, who stood beside him, stared at her sobbing, vehemently apologetic, spider-legged classmate and mumbled, ". . . Maybe we shouldn't have seen the movie after all."

The blue-haired boy whipped his head towards her in half-shock but when their gazes clashed, he immediately looked away. As their classmates tried to calm down Suzuran and scold Koji for scaring her, an awkward silence settled between the two quiet teenagers with no third party available to digress. Kasai glanced at her from the corner of his eyes – and immediately felt the familiar stab of regret when he noticed the brown patches over her exposed right shoulder and down her arm. They had considerably healed and faded but-

' _I . . . still did that to her.'_

"Hitori."

"Ye . . . es?!" He cursed the panic he felt for the way his voice squeaked at the end, shifting his nervous gaze back to the raven-head. She was staring at him with unflinching silver eyes and, for several moments, he could not bring himself to look away.

She had stunningly beautiful eyes, gleaming like frozen silver bullets.

"Thanks for coming today. I can understand you had to push yourself quite a bit to do so." He was thankful when she finally looked away, turning her gaze towards the others.

"No, I . . ." He felt his voice trip over the words. Why was she even talking to him . . .? To someone who'd hurt her so terribly?

Who'd almost _killed_ her?

"I . . . should be thanking _you_ , Tetsuya-san." He clutched the edge of his T-shirt and stared at the ground, refusing to look up even as she turned to stare at him again. "For inviting me . . . despite what . . . what I did . . . to you . . ."

He remembered it so clearly – his right hand shooting out to burn her, his index finger triggering the gas in his gauntlet. How the flames had spread out and singed her skin raw. And if . . . it hadn't been for her quick actions . . .

The stitches on his right arm throbbed.

' _I . . . would've been a murderer again.'_

"Hitori-kun! Inori-san!" Kenio jogged towards them, pulling away from the finally composed main group. "Let's go to the food court for lunch!"

Both of them nodded at the orange-haired boy, exchanged a very short glance and followed their other classmates outside the movie hall.

 **. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 1:40 p.m. – The Mall)**

"Oh boy!" Jobu collapsed against his chair, patting his bloated stomach. "Man, I was starving, ya know?!"

Akaname stared at him, his Subway salad half-forgotten. "You finished a whole tub of cheese popcorn during the movie, Jobu-san. **Alone**."

The mall's food court was large and widespread, with enough space to seat three hundred people and the group of thirteen occupied a table in the center of the area, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. Kagami sat between Reiko and Habiki and offered the boy on her left a bite of her sandwich. "I think you'll like this, Hara-san."

He smiled as he took the sandwich from her, slender fingers carefully wrapping around the plastic foil. "I'll have a taste then. Thank you, Kita-san." He bit into it and his eyes immediately brightened. "This is actually really good!"

Reiko, sipping on her orange juice, turned to Kagami. "Kita! Can I have a bite too?!" ' _If someone like Hara likes it, I bet it's pretty good!'_

Kagami took the sandwich from him and handed it to the blonde. With a salivating mouth and shiny eyes, she took a decent-sized bite.

And as the bitter taste – **of whatever goddamn mulch was in the sandwich** – filled her mouth, she chugged down her entire beverage to force the horrible taste down her throat. Choking and coughing, she turned to the duo with bleary and angry eyes. "What the fuck was that?! It tastes horrible!"

Kagami stared at her like she was some asylum escapee and Habiki mirrored her expression. "What do you mean? It's absolutely delicious," she calmly bit into her sandwich and the boy beside her nodded in agreement. Reiko stared at them with a traumatised look.

' _Never mind! I'm happy with my burger and French fries, thank you very much!'_

Hoshi, Jigoku, Inori, Kenio and Akaname were engaged in a discussion about their school, what they thought of the various Pro Heroes who were teachers there and classes. Suzuran was just quietly listening to their conversation, eating her strawberry parfait with a thoughtful look on her face. "And Uravity's pregnancy is in its third trimester already!~" Her freckled friend clapped her hands in delight as she spoke. Her poofy blue curls floated around her head in what seemed to be exhilaration. "I'm so excited to see what kind of baby she and Deku-sensei are gonna have!~"

Inori almost choked on her chicken nuggets while Kenio eagerly replied, "I know, right?! I wonder whose Quirk the baby's gonna receive! Or . . . what if it receives a combination of both One for All and Zero Gravity?!" His eyes were sparkling. "That'd be LIT!"

"You both seem more excited about the Midoriya baby than his parents do," Jigoku smirked, resting his hand on his palm. But he suddenly paused and intently stared at Hoshi's face, who sat to his left. "Fujita-san, you've got something on your face."

"Yes?~" Hoshi turned to face him with her bright smile and burning amber eyes.

"Just a little bit of cream." And, without a second of hesitation, the amethyst-haired boy dabbed at the white smudge near her lower lip with his index finger. He brought it to his own mouth and stuck his tongue out to lick it off. "Nice . . . but a little too sweet for me."

And while everything he did was done in complete nonchalance, everyone else who'd seen the act was staring at him with bulging eyes and a gaping mouth. The comments were delayed by only a few seconds.

"Whoa, Tejina-kun, I see you've upped your game!" Koji mewled.

"T-T-T-TEJINA-SAN!" Akaname slammed his hands down on the plastic table and leaned forward towards the boy. "What kind of indecent conduct are you committing in public?!"

"F-Fu-Fuji-jita-san . . .," Suzuran turned to look worriedly at her friend, her spider legs trying to hide the raging blush on her face.

But instead of being embarrassed, angry or upset, Hoshi's smile hadn't been wiped off. "Ah, thank you for doing that, Tejina-kun!~" She beamed at the boy before turning to look at Akaname. "It's okay, Shimizu-kun! I really don't mind!"

' _Her smile . . . IT'S TOO PURE!'_ Her classmates immediately shielded their eyes to avoid being blinded by her innocence.

"Tejina, you shouldn't take advantage of girls like that, you pervert!" Reiko hissed from a few chairs away, huffing as she glared at him.

Jigoku sighed as he took a sip of his drink. "You guys are way too sensitive. I just removed some cream from Fujita's face." However, before anyone could feel guilty at the subtly irritated expression on his face, he was leaning towards Hoshi. "But you can always count on me to take care of you, Fujita-chan.~" He winked at her.

"TEJINA(-SAN), YOU PERVERT!"

"Hah, Tejina, you upped your game by some more levels!"

"Thank you, Tejina-kun!"

". . . You're not supposed to thank him, Fujita-san."

"Heh, are you gonna be eating that?"

"Jobu, don't take my fries!"

As the young group of teenagers sat laughing, chatting and arguing, Inori felt a familiar warmth blossom in her. Warmth she'd almost forgotten had existed. She looked at all of them – her classmates, her _friends_ – and branded all of their happy faces permanently in her mind.

' _I wish . . . things always stay like this.'_

The teens were so engaged in their interactions, that they did not notice the intense gazes that burnt holes in them from a few tables away.

"Sickening. Truly sickening."

In a corner of the food court sat a quartet of casually dressed young and middle-aged men, uninterestedly chewing on their food. And the youngest of them munched violently on a French fry, not taking his visible crimson eye off a certain sapphire-haired girl.

"Just look at that runt, so excited and carefree, smiling like an innocent little child." He bitterly murmured, speaking to his companions in a hushed voice. "Completely unaware of all the misery she's caused us. Unaware of the great pains she's given to boss. Stupid little oblivious airhead bitch."

"Ren," the older man sitting next to him hesitantly spoke, "You're phasing."

"Huh?" The boy looked down to see that his right hand had unconsciously turned into a hairy paw with sharp black nails and thick grey fur. But he quickly transformed it back into a pale, human hand.

As the group of teenagers in the center of the food court got up from their seats and prepared to leave, Ren lowered his head and spoke, "Tell the men outside to stay on alert. We will be beginning the operation in an hour from now. Till then, I will be on reconnaissance."

"Understood." The same man nodded and signalled the remaining two hunks to move into position. They got up from the bench and parting, moved into opposite directions. But before the man could follow them, he turned to the young adult and asked, "Who will communicate to Boss?"

" **I WILL.** " He stared at the larger man with a penetrating gaze, madness dancing behind the crimson iris. "You just do what you've been asked to, Kirisaki. **I'll** contact Boss and let him know everything that's going on."

Ren got up from his seat, shoved his hands in the pockets of his bomber and walked in the direction the teenagers had taken.

"Because . . . I'm the one Boss trusts **the most**."

 **. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 2:23 p.m. – U.A.)**

"Mou, I can't believe you beat me again, Hanransha-san!"

Kenio collapsed to the floor in a defeated heap as **"STEEL JAW WINS!"** flashed on the gaming screen in big, bold and flashing green letters. Yasu looked down at him and coaxed, "Third time's supposed to be the charm, Nakamura-san, but looks like your third time's a scam."

"Uwuuwuu . . . I don't care!" The ginger picked himself up with a huff and swiped his Game-card once again. "A true Hero never gives up!" He typed **"TRACER"** as his username, selected Lemillion as his player character and begun the game once again.

Yasu smirked under the shadow of his balaclava and readied his Shoto character for another free game. "That's true but . . ."

" **READY, GO!"** An automated voice called for the beginning of another match.

". . . A true Hero also needs to know when it is wise to avoid a battle."

Meanwhile, Akaname, Inori and Habiki were seated on one of the spare car racer chairs, discussing the groups that had been divided for the next slew of activities. "Alright, so Hanransha-san, Tejina-san, Kita-san and . . . _Hitori_ -san will be going to Walmart. I, Hara-san, Nakamura-san, Jobu-san and Aizawa-san will be checking out the bookstore. And Tetsuya-san, Asagumo-san, Fujita-san and Shimamura-san will be shopping for clothes." He looked to the other two for confirmation. "Is that right?"

Both of them nodded. "And, by 5:30, we're all supposed to meet at Starbucks?" Habiki asked. Both Akaname and Inori nodded in the affirmative.

"Shimamura-chan, you're supposed to protect the right base! Not the left!" Koji's yelling drew their attention – and that of many other spectators – to the center of the room where he and Reiko were engaged in an intense air hockey battle against Jobu and Kagami.

"Shut your mouth and move your hand, Aizawa!" Reiko snapped as she almost jumped on him in order to protect their base from Jobu's attacking puck. But unfortunately, it bounced against her striker and slid into their goal, scoring a point for the rival team.

"BOOYAH!" Jobu exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as Koji retrieved the puck from their end of the table, an uncharacteristic pout on his face. "You can't beat me and Kita!" He smirked at the rival team before pulling the girl beside him in a one-armed hug. "We're a team that goes way back!"

"Jobu, don't . . .," the turquoise-haired girl blushed as she pulled away from him and straightened the collar of her dress.

Koji mischievously chuckled at the grey-haired boy's announcement. "Are you sure you both are only a 'team', Jojo?"

"Ai-Aizawa-san!" Kagami retorted with embarrassedly flushed cheeks while Jobu just stared at his shorter classmate with a confused face. But using that distraction, Koji had shot the puck forward in record-breaking speed and before the teens on the other side could react, it'd broken through their goal post.

"WAY TO GO, AIZAWA!" Reiko cheered, throwing her arms around the boy.

"Aizawa, you twit-!" Jobu violently reached for the puck and immediately shot it out while Kagami just covered her face in shame.

Meanwhile, near the shooters section, Hoshi and Suzuran were engaged in a double-teamed recon mission. Playing as undercover Heroes sent to take down a league of power Villains, they clutched their gaming guns with sweaty palms as their characters navigated through concrete labyrinths infested with evil henchmen. "Froppy, let's take the left exit out of here!" Hoshi's eyebrows furrowed in determination as she tried to guide her teammate.

"Y-Yes, Fuji-I-I mean . . . Uravity!" Suzuran tried her best to keep up with her friend, nervous but excited.

"The girls sure sound like they're having a lot of fun, huh?"

Jigoku regretted turning back to have a look because, within those few seconds, Kasai had overtaken him in the bike race. Cussing under his breath, the horned boy was forced to use his last nitro booster in order to take over his rival in the last lap.

"Clever . . . but futile." As soon as he'd thought he had an upper hand and sped off ahead, Kasai used his own nitro boosters at their stored up double speed and within the closely paced few seconds, crossed the finish line first.

" **HITORI WINS!** "

"Phew!" Both boys removed their helmets and Jigoku shook his curls, turning to glance at the light-haired boy beside him. "That was pretty clever of you – what you pulled at the last second."

Kasai nervously scratched his cheek. "Thanks a lot, Tejina-san." His eyes closed in what seemed to be an appreciative smile. "Somebody taught me that well-timed surprise attacks can be quite useful."

Jigoku's eyes twinkled as he realised what he was alluding to. "You're a fast learner, aren't you, Hitori-san?"

Inori watched the interactions between everyone and the happy smiles on their faces. _'I guess it paid off.'_ She nodded in satisfaction, surveying all her widespread classmates who were hammering away at the various games. But her eyes suddenly caught sight of an unusual thing hovering in the area, close to where Hoshi and Suzuran were engaged in a brutal battle.

"What are you doing here?" she mumbled, approaching the small, black butterfly that fluttered in the air before her. When she reached out to touch it, it danced away in quick, elegant movements and had soon disappeared amidst a crowd of people in the arcade's bowling zone.

She stared at the group of young adults engaged in a bowling match, searching for the black butterfly but once she realised it was nowhere to be found, she shrugged and went off to play some games.

 **. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 4:37 p.m. – The Mall)**

"Kyaaaaaahhhh, that dress looks so adorable on you, Asagumo!"

"You look like a European Princess, Suzu-chi!~"

"It looks nice."

Suzuran felt herself grow incredibly hot and her first reaction was to duck behind the changing room curtain to hide herself. But she was pulled out by the over-eager salesgirl who cooed, "What an adorable sight you are, miss! You are definitely one of the cutest elementary schoolers in Musutafu! This white taffeta dress is made for you!"

' _B-But I'm in high school!'_ The rose-haired girl wanted to protest but the only thing she could do was bristle her spider legs in nervousness. Thankfully, the sales girl was quick to turn her attention to Reiko and chipped, "And ma'am, do I just know the perfect skirt that would look super cute on you!"

The blonde excitedly jumped on her heels. "I hope it's nothing too girly!"

The salesgirl's smile widened. "Just the perfect mixture between punk and tomboy!"

Reiko pumped a fist in the air as she trailed after the salesgirl. "That's perfect! That's exactly MY style!"

' _What a scarily observant person . . .,'_ Inori and Suzuran stared as the brunette led the excited Reiko away into the skirts and shorts section, leaving them behind. But as she was throwing her gaze around the store, the raven-haired girl suddenly caught sight of a very enticing leather jacket at the other end of the room. With shining silver eyes, she stated, "Fujita, Asagumo, I'll be right back."

And she briskly marched off, speed-walking so no one took away the jacket before she did.

Once the other two were gone, Suzuran gulped down her nervousness and finally managed to relax a little, nervously clutching the silky fabric of the skirt. It was a very pretty sleeveless dress with a large bow adorning the back and a high-low hem that brushed against her knees.

"D-Does it really . . . loo-look good on . . . me, Fujita-san?" Her eyelashes fluttered in awkwardness, gaze glued to the floor.

Hoshi took her hand in hers and gave her one of her signature warm smiles. "I wasn't exaggerating when I called you a European Princess, Suzu-chi.~" Suzuran grew warm as the honey-eyed girl patted her head. "You're really very pretty.~"

"T-Thank you." Suzuran smiled a little, finally deciding to look up. "You're very cute too, Fujita-sa-"

But once she noticed the scary man standing behind Hoshi, her breath hitched in her throat.

"Glad to see you're enjoying your shopping."

In a flash, two sharp-nailed paws were placed at the edge of both their napes. He surveyed the area for any prying eyes and once he no one was looking their way, he pushed the girls into one of the changing rooms. And once he'd entered, locked the door behind him.

"If you both scream," the black-haired male hissed and Suzuran winced as he cut a shallow wound against her neck, staining the snow white skin with a crimson line, "I'll stab your vocal cords out right here and right now."

With quickly blurring eyes, the spider-legged girl stared at Hoshi, who had completely stilled as droplets of sweat trailed down her temples. The boy cocked his visible crimson eye towards the freckled girl. "I don't know if you remember me, Hoshi, but I don't care even if you don't." The only expression on her face was slowly erupting panic. "However, all that matters is that you'll be coming with me right now."

The blue-haired girl's eyes snapped to look at him just as a scream almost escaped Suzuran's throat, trying to alert the nearby customers. But with lightning speed, he'd plastered a thick strip of tape over her lips – and in the moment it took her to inhale, she felt a tight collar wrap around her neck.

As it dug into her exposed wound, Suzuran's tears spilled and Hoshi stared at her friend with horrified eyes, breathing harshly but not daring to make a sound. "Don't you understand Japanese, you mutant bitch? Another sound and I'll detonate the bomb in the choker around your neck. And your friends can watch as your charred head falls to the ground."

Suzuran almost slid to the floor, her shaking legs unable to keep holding her up, but he harshly held her up with his sharp claws, the nails digging into her exposed arm. "Stand still, ugly freak. One false movement and I'll rip _both_ your hearts out."

And suddenly, Hoshi was grabbing his arm. "You're Ren . . . right?" She gazed up at him with dead moulds of honey. He stared back with a hateful gaze. "I'll come with you . . . so please . . . don't hurt Suzu-chi anymore."

With his hands back to normal, the man called 'Ren' placed his right hand right below Hoshi's nape and pushed her forward. "If you don't want your friend's neck and head to explode into pieces, walk normally. Keep your expression normal, follow the directions of my palm **but . . .** one scream and Asagumo Suzuran will drop dead."

"Fhbvhjbkjn . . .," only a breathless whisper escaped her throat, her voice paralysed and muffled due to the tape.. Hoshi gave her a weak smile – so different from her warm grins – completely shadowed by her terrified eyes.

And there was no one to stop him as he forced the girl out of the changing room and, consequently, the clothing store. She watched a salesgirl greet them as they silently walked out the door and she knew the only reason Hoshi was keeping herself calm and normal was for her sake.

Her pathetic, weak sake.

Suzuran slid down to the floor, completely shattered as her legs gave away. Thick blobs of tears bleared through her eyes and dropped down to the floor.

As Ren made his way outside, weaving expertly into the crowd with a harsh grip clenched around Hoshi's thin wrist, he sneered.

' _Stupid girl . . . did she really think I wouldn't actually do anything?'_

And covertly, he reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a palm-sized device with a single red button.

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Pinky: *bobbing head as she listens to music***

 **Inori: *taps her shoulder* What are you listening to?**

 **Pinky: *removes one side* THESTUFFILIKE-SAN HAS MADE A SICK PLAYLIST FOR ALL OF CLASS 1-A! IT'S MY JAM NOW, INORI!**

 **Inori: Really? Can I find it online?**

 **Pinky: SURE! YOU CAN LOOK FOR IT ON YOUTUBE – JUST LOOK FOR A PLAYLIST CALLED 'INORI AND THE GANG CLASS 1-A'S FUNKY JAMS'!**

 **Inori: Welp, that's a weird ass name . . .**

 ***15 minutes later***

 **Pinky and Inori: *both bobbing their heads to the sick beats***

 **Pinky: *removes headphones* Thank you to all my beloved reviewers and voters for your never-ending support and encouragement! See ya next week! :D**

 **Inori: Pa pa power, pa pa power, pa pa power . . .**


	18. Ch 17 - A Friend In Need

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 17 – A Friend In Need**

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 4:38 p.m. – The Mall)**

"Oh, isn't this book in the suggested reading list ascribed by Deku-sensei?"

The bookstore was tucked away in a quiet corner of the mall and fitting to its image, was a relatively sombre place filled with only a dozen or so people. Despite its outer appearance, its interior was vast and the long rows of tall, light brown shelves were stacked to the brim with various kinds of books, all neatly divided in several categories. Jobu and Koji were laughing in hushed voices, standing in front of the manga section while Kenio was poring over an animation dictionary. Habiki and Akaname stood before the academic section where the former was looking for a particular book, delving deep into the psychology sub-section.

After several minutes of searching, Habiki released a contented titter. "I finally found it!" He pulled back from the shelf and rotated his ankles, his toes a little sore since he'd been standing on their tips.

Akaname adjusted his glasses and peered at the dark-coloured book in his classmate's hands. " _Inside the Mind 2 – Human Fears, Expectations and Weaknesses._ A research study by Shinsou Hitoshi." He blinked his dark eyes in realisation and straightened up. "Shinsou Hitoshi . . . that's the real name of the Pro Hero Mental, isn't it?"

Habiki nodded as he pressed the book to his chest. "I admire Shinsou-san quite a bit. Not only because of his capability as one of the Top 20 Heroes or because of our similar Quirks but because of his unique perception on the functioning of our society." He looked down at it, smiling. "I'd been waiting for the release of the sequel."

Akaname shared his smile. "I'd like to read the first part someday."

Habiki looked pleased. "Sure! I'll bring it to school tomorrow!"

"Jonetsu . . . is that you?!"

All five boys looked up at the womanly voice that had come from somewhere nearby but when Jobu realised just who had called his name, he squeaked in fear. Kenio, Koji, Akaname and Habiki stared in confusion as a slender girl with spiky silver hair bunched in a high ponytail stalked over to Jobu and grabbed his arm. "Didn't I ask you to look over the apartment for today?!"

"D-De-Denwa-nee-chan!" The boy seemed to be slightly panicking at the furious glare the shorter girl was shooting him. "What are you doing here?!"

' _Nee-chan?'_ The same thought rushed through the minds of the other four.

The pretty female couldn't have been more than twenty-five but was dressed rather professionally in a knee-reaching black pencil skirt and a tucked white shirt with rolled up sleeves and a bow-scarf tying her collar. "Never mind what I'm doing here!" She yelled, completely nonchalant about the stares she was receiving from other people. "First of all, you break the lock to the main door and when I ask you to house sit while I go to work and get the lock fixed, I see you hanging around in the mall!"

Everyone sweat-dropped as they craned their necks to ogle at the nervous grey-haired boy. "Jobu-san," Kenio hesitantly asked, "You . . . didn't leave your apartment unlocked, did you?"

"Of course not!" he exclaimed, looking enraged at the idea. "I'm not _that_ stupid! I put up a sign outside the door that whoever enters the apartment will have their ass kicked by me and Real Steel!"

The four boys almost collapsed to the floor and Denwa massaged her temple, gritting her teeth to keep her temper in control. "Seriously . . . what am I gonna do with you . . .," she mumbled. But she somehow managed to calm herself down and stared down at her sheepish brother with a fierce glare. "I'll request Tetsutetsu-san for an early leave today so you're coming home with me, Jonetsu!"

"Ehhhhhhhhhh?!" He cried out but when she narrowed her eyes, he put his arms up in surrender. "Alright, alright, nee-chan! I will!" Sighing in disappointment, he turned to his friends and grinned awkwardly. "Alright, fellas, looks like I gotta skedaddle for now." Denwa turned to the boys, smiled and gave them a short, formal nod before walking out of the bookstore and standing outside. But not before she shot one final, penetrating glare at her little brother.

"I hope your house hasn't been robbed yet," Shimizu muttered, wondering just how careless someone could be.

Jobu gave a short chortle as he rubbed the back of his head. "Don't ya worry, if something happens, Real Steel is always gonna help us out!" As he jogged out of the shop, he turned back and waved after his friends. "See ya all tomorrow! And tell the others that I had to rush back!"

"Bye, Jojo!" Koji yelled at the top of his lungs, completely ignoring the scowls of the other patrons. "If you really got robbed, we can always do a fun fundraiser!"

Suddenly, Habiki noticed that Jobu had left his cap on top of a magazine stack and grabbing it, he rushed out to return it to his classmate. "I'll be back!" he turned back and yelled as he jogged out the bookstore.

Once he was outside, he paused and stared around, eyes searching through the increased crowd for spiky, grey hair. Once he noted them going down an escalator, he ran in its direction. "Jobu-san!" Habiki cried out. "You forgot your-!"

But when he suddenly ran past a wide-eyed Hoshi and a mysterious man who walked too close to her, the raven-head froze in his tracks.

' _Hara-kun. Help. Help. Suzu-chi is in the changing room. Bomb. Neck. HELP. PLEASE.'_

' _-distance, I'll push the button. And she can cry once she comes to know that her friend's charred head rolled off anyway. Teenagers nowadays sure are stupid. Hah. If she only knew that she can unzip by twisting the pin on the back. But she'll be dead before she can even-'_

Habiki half-turned as he watched Hoshi disappear amongst the crowd with the tall boy following close behind her, sticking to her like he was her shadow. But before the throng of walking people could cover them, he noticed how tightly his hand was wrapped around her arm.

' _Wait. This is no time for that. Asagumo-san!'_

Thoroughly confused but aware that each passing second endangered Suzuran, he rushed into the direction of the store the girls had been in, Hoshi's unspoken words repeating over and over in his head. _'Please . . . please be alright!'_ He ran forward with shaking legs, afraid he would collapse at any moment, but took in deep breaths to compose himself. Panic would only ruin the situation further. He _had_ to keep himself composed if he wanted to save the rose-haired girl.

"Asagumo-san!" he yelled as soon as he dashed inside the store, earning looks of annoyance and confusion from the shoppers and the salesgirls. "Asagumo-san, where are you?!" But it was difficult to keep the panic in control. He was rushing through the wide store, shoving aside racks of clothes, looking behind mannequins and trying to slow down his pounding heart.

"Hara?"

Habiki paused when he heard the emotionless voice call out from behind him.

Inori held a shopping bag in her hand but behind the placidity of her expression, there was subtle worry. "What happened?"

"Tetsuya-san, it's bad!" Inori was taken aback at the frazzled look on his face . . . she had never thought the always calm boy was capable of looking like that. "Asagumo-san, where is she?!"

Inori, although not understanding anything, strode towards the changing rooms. "Well, I left her and Fujita right around here." She stood in front of the room Suzuran had been using and pushing the curtain aside, opened the door. "But why are you so-"

However, what they saw cut off everything she was about to say.

Suzuran snapped her head towards them, eyes rimmed and puffy with frightened tears, her tiny body bunched against a corner. The spider legs on her back were limp against the wall and hung down like dead branches. A thin trail of blood had slid down her neck and stained the neckline of the white dress she was wearing. But the blood drops that stained the floor near her seemed to be from the deep nail marks gashed into her arm.

Inori was frozen still on her spot but Habiki was quick to move, realising what the black choker tied around her neck was. "Shit. Shit shit SHIT." He kneeled down in front of her and pulled her forward – she shook in his arms like a plastic doll left out in cold, windy rain. "The pin . . . the pin . . .," his fingers stumbled as they moved around the choker.

"Asagumo." Inori's voice was ice. "Who did this? . . . Where is Fujita?"

Fresh tears pooled out of her eyes even as Habiki pushed her head face-down, pulled away her long hair and scrambled to find the pin. "Tetsuya-san, can you hold her hair, please?!" The girl moved forward silently and bunched up the thick magenta locks, staring as Habiki fiddled with the choker. Suzuran shuddered but all that escaped her were frightened mewls. As sweat dripped down his chin and rolled over his eyelids, the grey-eyed boy plastered his curly bangs to the side, tightening his fingers to still them.

"What's going on here?" Someone asked from behind them but there was no time to reply. Because soon, Habiki's clammy fingers rested against a small, metallic knob.

' _Found it!'_

Using his nails, he twisted the minute grey circle until it rolled out, the choker draping loose. "Move back, that's a bomb!" He cried, pulling Suzuran to her feet – Inori coiled an arm around the limp girl's waist and pushed away the frightened salesgirl behind them as they all moved out of the room. And only a few seconds later-

 _BOOM._

Reiko, who was making her way from a distant section, almost lost her balance when a mild explosion quaked through the floor. As she realised that the smoke was coming from the place she'd last seen her classmates in, she dashed towards them, her shopping bag dangling recklessly in her palm.

She had to struggle to push through the gathered crowd and cussed as she roughly shoved herself between two overweight men. "Fujita! Asagumo! Tetsuya!"

And when she finally got to the front, she was greeted with the sight of panicked salesgirls, a bleeding and crying Suzuran and Habiki trying his best to hold back Inori, whose hands had half-turned into black claws.

"What happened here?!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 5:13 p.m. – The Mall)**

". . . And the-then he . . . he to-ok he-er . . . awa-"

Suzuran choked up in the middle of her sentence and erupted into another bout of hiccups, her cheeks permanently stained with tear trails. Akaname wordlessly pulled her into his arms and smoothed his hands over her head and behind her back, taking on the role Hoshi usually fulfilled for her. Although her arms remained limp beside her as she continued crying into his chest, pitiful wails escaping her, she clenched her fingers against the front of his jersey when her body began shaking violently.

The group of eleven were seated in the mall's lounge room, in various moods of panic, anger, bereavement and sadness. The mall director and a couple of attendants were present in the room with them but let the teens share the sofas in the centre of the room, sitting around a circular glass table that held eleven cups of cold tea.

"Yes sir, a child has been kidnapped. And there was a minor bomb strapped to another one's neck- no, no, thankfully, it was taken off before anyone could really be harmed. Yes . . . yes . . . I understand." The director, a slim man in his early fifties, got up and moved away to another room inside the lounge.

Everyone sat still and frozen, staring at their clenched knuckles and shaking knees with distressed gazes. "Horrible . . . this can't be . . . it can't be . . .," Kenio's eyes had become permanently wide, his mumbles breaking through the thick tension.

"Tch! If only I'd been more alert." Jigoku gritted his teeth in frustration, his nails pushing into his palms. "I'd noticed that shady, black-haired, one-eyed guy in the food court staring at us . . . but at that time . . . shit man. Shit."

"Nobody could've guessed something like this, Tejina-san." Habiki sympathetically looked at him. "Besides . . . I had a chance to help her at the end . . . and I . . . I couldn't." Guilt gnawed at his insides. Why couldn't he have been born with an offensive Quirk?!

"If not for your quick thinking and action, Hara-san, things would've been much more dire," Yasu supplied, glancing at Suzuran who had quieted down a little in Akaname's embrace.

"That's right, guys!" Koji pepped up, grinning light-heartedly. "All's well if everyone's alive!"

Immediately, hateful glares from almost everyone were shot at him. "Could you shut the fucking hell up, Aizawa?!" Reiko snapped as she stood up, slamming her hands on the table. "There's nothing 'well' about this motherfucking situation! Asagumo is wounded and almost lost her life and Fujita has been FUCKING KIDNAPPED!"

Once she'd blurted it out, the ringing truth in her words hit everyone with the harsh fact – Hoshi had been taken away by some dangerous Villain.

The blonde sat back down and Kagami soothingly rubbed her arm, whispering "Calm down, calm down." Koji pursed his lips but decided to remain quiet.

Soon, the door to the director's office had opened and stepping out, the man spoke to the Hero trainees. "We've been asked to visit the nearest police station. Some Pro Heroes will be meeting us there. And the ones who've had direct contact with the perpetrator have been called."

Habiki immediately stood up while Suzuran took some time to wobble to her feet, furiously rubbing at her puffy face. Akaname stood along with her and stated, "I'll be coming along as well." A hesitant expression briefly appeared on the director's face but he gave in and nodded.

"And the rest of you have been asked to go home for the day." The others looked like they had something to say in opposition but the man's next words shut them up. "Deku asked me to tell you all to stay assured. He said that he'll definitely save your friend."

Inori's eyes widened but she tore them away, clenching her fists.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Why . . . Fujita-san?"

The warm, early summer day had passed into chilly twilight. The UA freshmen sat outside in the children's play area located behind the mall, occupying a secluded corner of benches shadowed by looming oaks. Jigoku sat with his face between his palms. "It's always the nice ones this shit happens to. _Fucking . . . always._ "

"Why . . . would someone want to hurt her?" Hitori intertwined his fingers, eyes lost. "She's so nice. Fujita-san . . . she could've never done anything to anyone. . . . Then why?" During the UA entrance exam, she hadn't been deterred by his strange respirator – she had walked up to him with her friendly, warm smile and asked him if he'd wanted to team up.

"I shouldn't have left them!" Reiko slammed her knuckle into the wooden bench, unflinching even when their tips bruised red.

"Reiko-san, please don't!" Kagami yelled, immediately taking the blonde's hand into her own.

"I SHOULDN'T HAVE FUCKING LEFT THEM!" The blonde turned to stare at her with tearful eyes, her face scrunched up in anger. But there was a desperate tilt to her eyebrows and her face was burdened with guilt and unease.

Inori continued staring at the ground, body numb, eyes unseeing, mind running.

"It's no one's fault, Shimamura-san." Yasu sighed, putting a warm, big hand on top of her head. "To strike at such a precise time . . . he must've been watching us for a long time."

"I just . . . want her to be safe," Kenio whispered, hands clenched in prayer. He didn't want to see death knock on someone's door again – especially **not** his friend's. "I know they'll find her . . . Deku-sensei definitely will. But till then . . . Fujita-san . . . I just want her to stay safe."

' _ **It's your fault, you know? For the second time too. Will you be useless again?'**_

Inori suddenly stood up from her seat and walked at a distance, away from her startled friends. When she began to unfurl her wings, Koji hollered, "Yo, Nori! Where you going?"

Without even looking back, she answered, "I'm going to look for Fujita."

It took some time for the others to process her words and it was only when her black wings straightened out behind her that Kenio jumped to his feet and ran towards her. "You can't, Inori-san!" he exclaimed, grabbing her hand. "Deku-sensei said he'd save her!"

She didn't turn to face him. "If he's too late . . . I'll look for her till then." She twisted her hand to break out of his grip.

"No, you can't!" However, he held on steadfast. "We don't even know anything about this situation! We are at a complete blank!"

Jigoku decided he had to intervene. "Tetsuya-san, please calm down," he requested in a voice as smooth as he could muster. "Think carefully. How will you even look for her?"

She snapped her head towards him, her eyes no more than cold slits of ice. "I have wings. I'll _**find**_ her."

' _ **Will you though? . . . Or will you be late this time too?'**_

Reiko jumped up to her feet, pushing Kagami's hand away. "I'm with you, Tetsuya!" she announced. "We'll find Fujita together!" Inori nodded at her.

Koji's eyes narrowed. "You both are stupid." There was a serious, biting edge to his words that was nothing like his playful jabs. Both girls flicked raging glares at him but he levelled them with a severely contemptuous gaze. "Musutafu is huge. Even with your speed-based Quirks, it will take you hours to even hope to find her location." Although their glares didn't fade, a hesitant stiffness came over their faces. "And even if you _do_ manage to find her with some miracle, you don't even know what kind of, or how many, enemies you'll be up against. You'll be killed within seconds."

Reiko flinched at the words but Inori was steadfast. "I'm strong," the raven-head retorted. "Very, _very_ strong." From her hairline, small, black horns were beginning to poke out. "I will mutilate anyone _and_ everyone who gets in my way."

Jigoku and Kenio exchanged tensed glances. _'This is bad. . . . This is really bad.'_ The ginger tightened his grip on her, expecting her to push him away at any moment. "Inori-san, please wait-"

Suddenly, Kagami and Koji were startled when Yasu jumped on his feet, growling like a rabid dog. "Who's there?!" he yelled out, staring up at the darkly-leafed oak through narrowed, apprehensive eyes. When the others exchanged confused glances and looked at him questioningly, he muttered, eyes still fixed to the tree, "Someone dropped something on my head from up there. And I heard movements."

Without a word, Inori took flight and moved towards the oak's broad leaves, the flapping of her wings and the rustles of her body against the branches the only noises that penetrated the silence. Within ten seconds, she flew out and landed on the ground, dusting her skirt off any stray twigs. "I checked thoroughly. There was no one."

Yasu looked genuinely baffled as he held out something in his large palm, staring down at it with furrowed eyebrows. As everyone crowded over to look at the object in his palm, he unfurled the piece of paper wrapped around something solid – which turned out to be a small, silver key.

"Is this some sort of a joke?" Koji muttered, taking the key in his fingers and examining it from all angles.

The dirty blond, meanwhile, unfolded the small piece of paper and flipped it over to read the visible scribbles. But after he read through them for the second time, his eyes widened.

Unable to control herself, Reiko snatched it from the stiff boy. "What is that?!"

Under the large, bold title, an address had been scribbled down in a neat hand.

" _ **Fujita Hoshi's location."**_

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, ? - ?)**

 _( "Hoshi, come here! Come to papa!"_

" _Papa!" The little girl giggled with joy as she flew into the air, her chubby toes leaving the wooden floor. Spreading her arms out, she clapped her small hands in delight and pretended to fly through the air as her father gently navigated her with his Quirk. "Papa, look, look! Hoshi is a fairy!"_

 _Her father had the kindest amber eyes and the most heart-warming smile in the world. "Yes. My Hoshi is the cutest fairy in the world." Only moving his index finger, he pulled her towards him and soon, she was in his embrace, looking up at him with honey-coloured eyes that mirrored his own._

" _And my papa is the beeeeeeessssst papa in the world!" She exclaimed before snuggling into his chest._

 _In the kitchen, she could hear the sound of her mother sautéing vegetables for lunch._

 _What a peaceful, nice day . . . )_

She heard the car skid to a stop but dared not take the blindfold around her eyes, even to wipe away the silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Somebody's cold hand roughly wrapped around her thin wrist and, as the car door was pushed open, she was pulled out.

"Do NOT take off the blindfold, Hoshi." Ren's voice was acidic poison. "If you do . . . well, let's just say your 'Suzu-chi' won't be attending classes from tomorrow."

The words made her want to vomit but she pushed it down her food pipe, taking in a deep breath. She couldn't show them fear. She couldn't show _him_ fear. "She . . . Suzu-chi is alright, right?" They had driven for at least half an hour . . . that was quite some distance from the mall, wasn't it? Was Suzuran still in danger?

She did not like the harsh chortle that escaped Ren. "Of course, she's _perfectly_ fine." He nudged her forward a little too harshly, grinding a fist into her lower back.

"Now, walk ahead. Your father has been waiting since the past three years."

* * *

 **Student Name: Ryo Kenshi**

 **Quirk: Crystallisation**

 **Ryo can create turquoise crystals from his body and use them for both offense and defence. He can use them in long-range, middle-range and short-range combat and can manipulate them in any way he wants.**

 **P.S: Ryo loves sleeping in late and becomes super violent when woken up.**

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 5:27 p.m. – Midoriya Household)**

As he laced up his red boots, he heard the light footsteps stop in the doorway of their living room.

"Fujita-chan has been taken," he stated, trying to sound as placid as possible. But he knew Ochako could already sense the instability in his tone – she somehow _always_ could. "I'll be meeting up with Shoji-kun, Jirou-san and some others for the rescue mission."

The brunette rubbed a palm over her pregnant belly while the fingers of her other hand clenched tightly against the painted wall, hard enough to leave scratches. "Deku . . ."

Once he was done, the olive-haired adult sat still for a few moments before letting a deep breath filter through his body. _'Calm down . . . I NEED to calm down.'_ He lightly slapped his freckled cheeks and got up, tightening the hems of his gloves.

When he turned around to face his wife, her eyes were barely holding back tears. He caressed her round face in his palms and pulled her into his chest. "It's okay, Ochako . . . I'll save her. I _promise_." She didn't sob but her small hands were clenching the front of his costume and he could feel her warm, controlled breaths fume over his chest. ". . . It's not your fault."

As his hands rubbed over the back of her head, she moved her face back to look up at him through steeled eyes. "I'm sorry, Deku-kun. I know I promised I wouldn't blame myself for what happened that time . . . but every time . . . every time I remember the traumatised look in her innocent amber eyes-"

 _( "Why . . . are you hurting papa?"_

 _Uravity tried her best not to look at the young girl before her. Her head throbbed, her ankle was probably dislocated and she had several bruises all over . . . but she'd take double the wounds over the questions in the child's eyes._

" _Are you taking him away? Forever?" )_

She ducked her face in her palms, willing the tears to go back through their glands. _'No, I . . . I'm thirty years old. I'm a Pro Hero now. I can't . . . can't be like this . . . I can't be this weak anymore.'_

But they managed to slip through.

As Deku tried to embrace her once again, the brunette pushed him away. "Go," she forced out, sounding aggressive even though she didn't mean to. "Hurry up, Deku-kun . . . and save her. She _needs_ you, right now."

He stared at Ochako worriedly, noting the suppressed quivering of her shoulders, her shaky breaths and the handful of drops that escaped through the gaps of her fingers and stained her yellow dress. But what she said was true – he had to hurry up. Every wasted second pushed his student closer to danger. Every minute it took to look for her increased the probability of an injury.

Even if Graviton was her father . . . there was no saying what he _would_ do.

"I'll soon be back with Fujita-chan," he firmly stated, pecking his wife on top of her head before rushing through the door, gone within the next second. Ochako shut the door, furiously wiped away her tears, slapped her cheeks in an effort to pull herself together and walked towards her office with determined steps.

' _Even if I can't physically be there . . . There's still something I can do.'_

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 5:33 p.m. – The Mall)**

"Are you _actually_ gonna go there?"

But even as he asked the question, Jigoku had already noticed the determination in her eyes. "This is the only lead we have," she replied, walking away. "Even if nothing turns up, I can't ignore this."

"And you too, Shimamura-san?" Yasu asked the short blonde – who suddenly bolted up in height once her Ankle Wheels folded out.

"It goes without saying I'm with Tetsuya," she quipped, face contorted with uncharacteristic rage. "I can't just sit still while my friend is kidnapped."

' _Friend . . .'_

Whoever had dropped the mysterious key on Yasu's head, had left behind a note that claimed a mysterious address to the south of Musutafu. An address where Hoshi was supposedly being held. Of course, there was no assurance as to the truth of its claims – both Jigoku and Yasu suspected it was a trap to lure them in. But Reiko, for some reason, was optimistic that it was a repentant Villain who wanted to help them look for their friend. And Inori was determined to check the place no matter what the truth was.

However, as both girls prepared to leave, Koji jumped to his feet as well. When awarded alarmed glances, he stretched his arms and drawled, "We're just going to check up on the verification of the location, right? It's not like we're going to have a death battle with the Villains or something." Smirking, he cooed, "Besides, the place is pretty far away and the girls could use some entertainment on the way."

"Koji . . ." Inori looked genuinely surprised when he winked at her – but there was gratefulness in her eyes.

"Not fair, Aizawa-san." Jigoku muttered, walking until he came to a stop between the two girls. "I can't leave two pretty ladies alone in your garish company. That would be a crime I would not stand for."

"T-T-Tejina?!" Reiko felt herself unwillingly break into a blush, heating up more when he smiled down at her. "Don't tell me you're-?!"

"Well, someone has to make sure that the three of you don't lose control, right?" he stared at her through one eye, closing the other in mocking contemptuousness.

"I'm coming along too!" Kenio determinedly announced, stopping right in front of Inori. As she stared at him with unmoved eyes, he spoke, "I-I'm not as strong as you, or Kanashimi-san, or Enoshima-san but . . . but you'll be requiring a good escape vehicle! And I'm good at drawing bikes!"

Kasai quietly stepped forward, standing a little behind his ginger friend. "If anyone tries to follow us . . . I can knock them unconscious with my gas." He was staring at the ground but his cerise eyes were brightly lit behind the cover of his cerulean bangs.

Kagami stared at all of them, horrified and unable to speak due to the lump stuck in her throat. Meanwhile, Reiko stared at her classmates with happy eyes and gave them all a big grin. Inori was still for a few moments but nodding to herself, mumbled, "Don't worry. I'll protect all of you."

Sighing in exasperation, Yasu ran his fingers through his messy locks, pushing them away from his eyes. "Kita-san," he turned down to stare at the petite girl, who perked up nervously, "You can return home alone, right?"

Nodding, Kagami finally understood what he was insinuating. "I can . . . but Hanransha-san . . . don't tell me . . ."

Yasu slowly made his way to the group of six and stood near them, a repressed flare of excitement burning in his eyes. "I'm afraid they'll need a guardian to look over them and, well, since Shimizu-san isn't here . . ."

"Are you guys insane?!" Kagami finally blurted out, unable to hold her feelings back. Everyone seemed to be a little shocked at the sudden rise in volume of the normally calm and polite girl. "You're actually going to fight Villains?! _Real_ Villains we know nothing about?!"

Reiko noticed the horrified look in her dark eyes. "Kagami-"

"This isn't like the Battle Simulation or anything!" She screamed, eyes squeezed tight with rage. "You can die, you know?! They'll kill you! _Real_ Villains don't show any mercy! You need to UNDERSTAND that!"

 _( "Hey, she's pretty cute for a 7-year old, ain't she?"_

 _She didn't like the way the man looked at her – the look in his eyes was like that of a starving wild animal. Especially when his slimy tongue ran over his lips._

" _Before the customer arrives . . . wanna try her a little?" )_

". . . That's exactly why we need to save Fujita as soon as possible."

' _Huh?'_ Kagami realised tears had slipped down her face, dropping down on her ballet flats. But when she looked up through bleary eyes, she had to blink a few times to clear her vision.

Because for a moment, Inori had looked like an Angel.

"I know we're all risking our lives and doing something stupid. Something we shouldn't do and we don't have to do. We're only students, after all." Her face was expressionless, bereft of any sense of sorrow, anger or guilt . . . but her eyes had traces of a vulnerable softness to them. "But Fujita is our friend. A precious friend we _have_ to save. And even if we can only do a little, we _have_ to do it."

Kasai spoke next, in a low but firm voice. "If Fujita-san had been in our place and we in hers . . . I know she would have come to save us."

"Can't disagree with that," Koji mumbled, cleaning an ear with his little finger. "She would've been shivering all over with fear but yeah . . . she'd have tried to save us."

"Well, I absolutely can't forgive men who hurt innocent girls." Jigoku crossed his arms over his chest, looking very displeased. "Those are the worst kind of scum to exist."

"Kagami!" The girl looked up at Reiko, who now towered over her – but the brightness in her orange eyes was the same light of optimistic energy. "We'll save Fujita and definitely come back, okay?! Keep your math homework ready for me to copy from tomorrow!" She beamed at her, showcasing a row of bright, straight teeth.

Kagami grit her teeth and tore away from Reiko, unwilling to let the frustrated bawling within her escape. Kenio, meanwhile, held a bunch of medium-sized helmets in his hand, with propellers attached to the top. "These may be a little difficult to manoeuvre with but they'll be enough to reach where we wanna go."

Koji excitedly took one and fitted the helmet over his head, tightening the safety strap around his chin. As he flicked the propeller, the blades began rotating and soon, he was lifted off his feet. "W-Woah!" he moved his limbs in excitement but his body soon toppled upside down, leaving him awkwardly hanging and zipping topsy-turvy through the air.

Kasai, on the other hand, looked to be in good control. "Aizawa-san," he called out, flying towards the struggling boy, "You need to relax your body and straighten you arms. No, don't fling them around like that-!"

"I think we're all ready to go now, Tetsuya-san," Jigoku commented, floating close to her. She nodded before flying into the air, rising much higher than her other classmates.

"Inori-san, wait!" Kenio called out, trying to catch up.

"Hurry up, Kenio. Everyone." However, she seemed to have no intention to stop as she buzzed through the air, already metres away from them. "If you're slow, we can't save Fujita."

"Hell yeah! Hurry the fuck up, slowpokes!" Reiko, using her Ankle Wheels as speed rotators, zipped through the air and managed to match Inori's speed.

As the others struggled to use their hat-copters and keep pace with the girls, Yasu stopped and floated towards Kagami. "Kita-san." But she still refused to look at him, keeping her tearfully frustrated face hidden. Suppressing a sigh, he requested in a soft voice, "You have all the right to be angry at us and I do realise that what we're doing is stupid. But still . . . I want to ask a favour of you."

She still refused to look at him or speak a word. But Kagami did hesitantly nod her head.

Grateful, Yasu pulled away and asked, "If we fail to contact you within the hour, please take this paper to any Pro Hero or police official you come across." He threw the crumpled paper with the scribbled address to her and she immediately caught it, staring at it wordlessly. "Thank you, Kita-san," he bowed and soon after, took off, following fast after his classmates.

Kagami continued standing in the empty park for a few more minutes, left completely alone with her thoughts and frustrations. Shoving the wrinkled paper in her pocket, she furiously made her way towards the gate, quiet anger simmering through her.

"Stupid . . . all of them are completely _stupid._ Trusting a mysterious message that fell from the sky . . . Who was behind this, anyway?"

As the turquoise-haired girl stomped angrily out of the mall's enclosure, pushing past the crowd of curious people and the horde of journalists, she was unaware she was being watched by a pair of shining jade eyes.

As the mostly empty park reigned in the silence of its loneliness, the leaves of the oak tree rustled and parted to reveal a tall, slim figure who jumped down from a branch.

"Nyaaaaaaaahhh, for a prodigy from the 'legendary' team TENSHI, you're not very attentive, ne, Tetsuya-chan?" The darkly dressed figure flinched as he licked the deep grazes on his arm, fresh blood spilling out of it. "Although, I do have to say your claws are as wicked as mine, nyaaaaa."

Black cat ears, protruding from the tips of his hair, perked up as they heard police sirens and the enthusiastic voices of hungry journalists. "Looks like meow job has been done. Time for me to retreat, nyaa!" And as suddenly as he'd appeared, the mysterious figure leaped off the mall's stone wall and disappeared into the night.

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 6:20 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

The sky was now completely a blanket of dark blue, flickers of tiny stars dotting its expanse like miniscule diamonds. But even their delicate glittering was not enough to light up the stuffy, dimly illuminated neighbourhood the seven teens found themselves in.

"This looks like the raging hangout for all of the city's criminals," Koji sweat-dropped as he walked closed behind Jigoku, staring at the dilapidated buildings, with their crumbling walls and mouldy doorways, around him. Even though it was early evening, pale lights were visible only through a few windows, dimmed by dirty and broken glass.

"It's really strange, though," Jigoku mumbled, exchanging a glance with Yasu who seemed to have the same thoughts on his mind. "This place is _way_ too quiet. There's not a _single soul_ in sight." Indeed, there were dozens of clustered, old buildings but there seemed to be no people loitering about. Not even ragged hobos or shady pickpockets walked around in the narrow alleyways.

Yasu's eyes narrowed. "Now I'm _sure_ it's a trap." He stopped and held out a hand to prevent Kenio and Kasai from moving forward. "Guys, we should back awa-"

"SHHHHH." However, his words were cut off by Inori raising a finger to her lips. Everyone immediately shut up and, for a few seconds, the silence was so deafening that Reiko heard a mouse scurry off somewhere. And then the raven-head's eyes widened and she was fiercely whispering, "Footsteps. Someone's coming. HIDE."

Although confused and nervous, the teens scampered off and hide in the narrow creak between two houses. Yasu, Kenio and Jigoku, who were too tall to fit though, immediately crawled behind a set of large crates that had been set outside the doorway of a dirt-stained apartment.

And without having to wait for long, the echo of a handful of heavy footsteps could be heard coming from the direction they had been heading in.

"Hah! Not a single person outside! Boss' influence sure hasn't been hampered even after spending a few years in jail!"

When Kenio and Kasai managed to peek out from behind their spots, they immediately drew away in cold sweat. _'Muscular men in black suits . . . WITH AUTOMATIC RIFLES.'_ No matter what kind of Quirks they had . . . no, not even Inori would be able to do much against guns.

Meanwhile, Yasu and Koji's brains were working elsewhere. _'Boss . . . jail?'_

"Man, this patrol duty sure is boring though!" The voice of a second person. "Like, what's even the point?! Since these scrappy scumbags already know Graviton and his men are here, they won't dare set foot out of their houses once the sun sets!" Loud, rumbling laughter.

But the high schoolers were too shocked to think anything of it. Their minds could only be fixated on one name.

' _Gra . . . Graviton?'_

The visage of Musutafu's most dangerous mob boss flurried into their minds. Greasy, blue curls that shadowed the coldest amber eyes . . . eyes that looked like they had personally murdered a hundred people. All of them had seen the despised Villain on television and read about the horrific crimes he and his gang partook in. Sex trafficking, gambling, drugs, kidnapping . . .

 _Murder . . ._

"This . . . this has to be a mistake." Reiko felt a cold lump cling to the inside of her throat, her words a desperate whisper. "A coincidence . . . this is a coincidence, right?!" She turned to stare at her classmates, eyes wide and terrified.

"Shhhh!" Koji hissed, clamping a hand over her mouth. However, the damage had been done.

"Oi, I heard a kid's voice from behind that dingy slum!" The blonde froze as hot tears sprung to her eyes and Koji clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing with nervousness. As footsteps rapidly approached their location, Inori clenched her hands until they had turned into black claws and Kasai grabbed the rim of his respirator, steeling himself to breathe out a whole cloud of gas once they appeared in front of him.

However, they didn't have to do anything because suddenly, a child's giggles filled the air.

"Oi, who's that?!" The four teenagers, pressed flat between the walls of two houses, watched as one of Kenio's cartoonish creations in the form of a dwarfish boy, ran beside their location and disappeared in the opposite direction, giggling all the while.

"After it, morons!" The footsteps turned into runs and soon enough, a trio of black-suited men rushed past their hiding place, guns pulled but fortunately not having noticed them. It was only after their footsteps had completely disappeared that they crawled out, hearts beating wildly.

"Hurry up! Before someone else sees us!" Jigoku whispered from a little distance ahead of them, glancing out from behind a building. Led by Inori, they rushed towards where the other three stood and immediately filed within the narrow parapet of another building, fortunately out of view of the alleyways.

As they tried to catch their breath, Koji huffed out, "If not for Nakamura-san's chibi, the four of us would've been good as fishing nets today." Reiko stared down at her feet in shameful guilt.

"But . . . they are Graviton's men? That dangerous gangster who recently escaped from jail?" Jigoku asked the forbidden question, looking to the others for answers.

"I knew it." Yasu threw his wary gaze around, expecting enemies to strike at them any moment. "That message was designed to trap us. And we walked in, like fodder."

"I-I'm sure it's just . . . just co-incidence!" Kenio butted in, trying to make his voice sound less panicking and more optimistic. "It doesn't make sense otherwise, right?! Like, Fujita-san's kidnapping and Graviton . . . just how could it be related?!"

Everyone, however, could only exchange confused, nervous glances. Time was ticking by and although there seemed to be no more immediate dangers, the gangly buildings and the unknown gazes they felt on themselves crawled and edged deep into their skin.

" _~Dreaming, ishi gyakosou, shikaku~"_

"W-Woah!" Kenio immediately pulled out his cell phone and, almost dropping it in a hurry, quickly pressed on the receive button. As his friends looked on in alarm and annoyance, he covered his mouth and whispered, "Hello?"

"Seriously?" Jigoku threw his arms up. "You're gonna do this _now_?"

However, before the ginger could say anything, he could hear a familiar voice furiously speak on the other end. "Nakamura-san, it's big! Oh my God, oh my GOD, it's horrible! It's incredibly horrible!"

"S-Shimizu-san?" Kenio's question piqued everyone's interest and the ginger wondered why the bespectacled boy was hyperventilating so much. "W-What happened? Is everyth-"

"Listen, Nakamura-san!" Akaname was hissing into the phone, his voice coldly authoritative. "LISTEN. TO. ME. Listen very, VERY carefully. Oh God, I can't . . . I can't _believe_ this-"

"Shimizu-san, what's up?!" Kenio yelled. "You're scaring me!"

Before Akaname could reply, there was a faint shuffling sound and it was Habiki who was speaking instead. "Nakamura-san, we just had a talk with Deku-sensei and some other Pro Heroes. And they know who's behind Fujita-san's kidnapping." The boy was calm but there was underlying dread in his tone.

"Nakamura, what happened?!" Reiko whispered, looking on the verge of a panic attack.

"You know, the mob boss, Graviton? The one who recently escaped Tartarus? The one they call 'Musutafu's worst gangster'?" Kenio was completely silent as he tried to process Habiki's words. "It's _him. He_ is the one who perpetrated Fujita-san's kidnapping and the Pros are completely certain about the fact. Through CCTV, they recognised that the one-eyed guy who kidnapped her is one of his most loyal henchmen."

"Nakamura-san, what happened?" Kasai gently shook the prone ginger. "What is Shimizu-san saying?"

But the only thing Kenio could utter was, ". . . Why?"

Habiki took a deep breath and, steeling himself, replied to his question. "Graviton . . . his real name is Fujita Danuja."

The ginger's eyes almost bulged out.

"And, well . . . he's Hoshi-san's _father_."

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Pinky: GUYYYYYYYYYYYSSSSSSSSS! GUYSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! GUYSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!**

 **Kenio: What happened, Pinky?! Is everything alright?!**

 **Pinky: KENIOOOOOOOO! *w* FAN-WORKS! F-A-N-W-O-R-K-S!**

 **Kenio: W-What . . .? OO;**

 **Pinky: *w* Our beloved readers have become inspired and produced some amazing song themes and artwork for the story! Arrow-chan3 has made an amazing playlist, DekuGotKicks has created amazing themes for you and Inori and Belladonna Swan has created artwork for 1-A!**

 **Kenio: :O That's amazing!**

 **Pinky: QwQ I know, right?! I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! Guys, you can check out all of the playlists, themes and artwork once I link them to my profile! THEY'RE SUPER AMAZING!**

 **Kenio: Sure will! . . . By the way, why was there no update last week?**

 **Pinky: Ehehehehehehe . . . TT-TT My laptop crashed and for some reason, auto-save didn't work so I lost my 11-page document. And I was too frustrated to restart things so I took it out by binge-watching anime for three days straight.**

 **Kenio: Ouch . . . that's painful . . .**


	19. Ch 18 - Rescuing Hoshi

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 18 – Rescuing Hoshi**

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 5:58 p.m. – Police Station)**

"And . . . that's all I know."

Habiki's fingers lay cool and flat against the wooden tabletop and all the panic he'd felt had now faded away into a recessive buzzing through his body, letting serenity and clear thoughts reign his mind. Akaname, despite the dire situation they were in, felt deep admiration for the petite boy – so calm and coherent even in moments like these. It was his quick thinking that had saved Suzuran's life, after all.

Habiki felt a small smile tug at his lips when he read the thoughts floating through Akaname's mind but kept his expression completely sombre. The police officials in front of them hosted grave expressions lined with furrowed brows and he did not want to disrespect them by smiling at an unsaid compliment. Besides, as soon as the smirk had appeared, it was wiped away.

Hoshi was still very much in danger.

The door to the head inspector's room opened and Suzuran paced in with scared footsteps, her wounds bandaged and fixed. Although her eyes were still puffy and ringed, a sense of composure seemed to have finally settled over her. A kind-faced female official accompanied her and helped her take a seat before Inspector Hibari, next to her two classmates.

"And you're Asagumo Suzuran-san, right?" The middle-aged, thick-browed man asked, his tone growing supple. Anyone who looked at the rose-haired girl was bound to soften – excluding the threatening spider legs on her back, she was small and fragile, resembling a porcelain doll in appearance. As she nodded to his question with frightened eyes, the inspector flipped his attention back to the various files on his table. "Could you please recount your version of things? From the moment you entered the shopping store with your friends."

This time, Suzuran was able to finish her account in a few minutes without breaking into tears. Although she still looked very uncomfortable and on the verge of breaking down, her fists were bunched in her lap, shaking but clenched tight. Akaname placed a gentle palm on the top of her head and patted her.

Inspector Hibari quietly observed the young teenagers for a few minutes before placing a photo in front of them. As all three turned hesitant gazes towards it, he asked, "The guy both of you saw with Fujita Hoshi-san . . . was this him?"

When both Habiki and Suzuran zoomed into the face his index finger pointed at, a cold sweat broke out on their napes and the latter bit down on her lower lip, trembling as she remembered how cruelly he'd treated her. It was the mug shot of a teenage boy with dark violet hair, staring into the camera with cold eyes. But even though he looked much younger and had a different hairstyle, the violent malignance on his face hadn't changed over the ears.

"Yes, this is him," Habiki replied and Suzuran nodded in agreement, her hands crawling to muffle her mouth.

The troubled expression that suddenly flitted on the Inspector's face did not bode well for the teenagers, even though he erased it as soon as it'd appeared. "Your friend . . . Fujita Hoshi-san . . ." They perked up at his reluctant tone, watching him in confusion. "Has she . . . ever talked about her family?"

Both Habiki and Akaname shook their heads but glanced at Suzuran, silently asking for an answer.

"Fujita-san she . . . she never talked much . . . about her family bu-but . . . I remember her saying th-that she lives with he-er mother. A-And that her father . . . he-he left them when she wa-as a child an-and that she doesn't rem-ember much abo-about him." Once she finished speaking, she looked up with frightened eyes, sensing the discomfort in the atmosphere.

Hibari released a long sigh and twirling his pen, shifted his gaze away from the curious faces. "Well . . . I don't know how to put this. If she hasn't revealed anything then . . . huh . . . what a dilemma . . ." He scratched his head, looking genuinely perplexed.

Habiki was seconds away from activating his Quirk but the door to the office slammed open.

"It's better to tell them, Hibari. They have a right to know and, besides, we really could do away with any more questions and misunderstandings regarding this case."

The woman's deep, resonating voice was incredibly familiar and even before they'd turned around, all the three students had recognised the speaker's identity. As they turned back and faced the new arrival, all their regrets, anger, sorrow and questions were replaced by feelings of complete awe and admiration.

Sighing once again, Hibari murmured, "I wish you'd knock once in a while, Earphone Jack. Closed doors are meant for that, if you didn't know."

' _I-it's really Earphone Jack!'_

The black leather jacket, the ripped crimson undershirt, the studded combat boots and tight jeans . . . not to mention the signature left side-shaved bob she sported. Rolling her eyes, Earphone Jack walked into the room and without paying attention to the ogling students, picked up the documents the Inspector had been looking at. Scanning through them, she commented, "This is troubling indeed. Who'd have thought he'd do something like this so soon after breaking out?"

Akaname was about to request Hibari to continue what he'd been saying but he was interrupted by another voice booming out from behind him, husky yet gentle in timbre. "I'm actually not that surprised, Jirou-san. I think this _is_ one of the main reasons he broke out in the first place."

Through the open doorway walked in a tall and incredibly muscular figure, donning a white, black and blue bodysuit with wide sleeves that allowed all six of his joint arms to flex and move freely. His hair was cropped on the sides with only a single, wide bang hanging over his right eye and a black balaclava covering more than half of his face.

' _T-Tentacole?!'_ The students were now beginning to shift from panic to awe, wondering why two of the top thirty heroes of the country were here. Akaname had to restrain himself from jumping to his feet, slamming his hands on the desk and demanding answers. While Habiki wondered why _two_ Heroes of such calibre had been assembled for a normal kidnapping case.

' _Fujita-san's kidnapping . . . is it_ _ **actually**_ _normal though?'_

Doubtful thoughts erupted in the silver-eyed boy's mind. To pull off such a precise kidnapping in a place as crowded as a mall was no ordinary feat and the more Habiki thought about it, the more he realised just how much planning, preparation and observation had gone into it. _'All this to capture a young, middle-class Hero-in-training?'_ But why would someone go to such lengths to kidnap Hoshi? Even if he factored in the fact that she was a U.A. student and the kidnappers wanted to threaten the school itself, wouldn't Inori and Asuna, children of famous Pro Heroes, have been better choices? Or maybe the kidnappers knew that kidnapping them would be difficult so they chose the mild-mannered Hoshi?

' _But even if I look at it from that viewpoint, wouldn't Asagumo-san be a better choice in that case?'_ He threw a glance over to the girl, who was nervously fiddling with her fingers, keeping her gaze rooted to the floor.

That means . . . there was a special reason behind it. One that wasn't related to money, fame or power but something more . . . personal.

"Hibari-san, is there any news on the vehicle the kidnappers used?" Tentacole asked, standing beside Earphone Jack who was still intensely scanning the documents.

"Well, from what the security cameras at the mall's parking lot have shown, they were originally travelling in a black Skoda Rapid. The number plate has been jotted down but we're not having any luck tracking it down." Another sigh escaped him and Akaname wondered if it was habitual for the greying man. "So currently, we have not a single clue on their whereabouts."

Clicking her tongue, Earphone Jack turned to Tentacole. "Did you ask Koda to come along?"

The tall Hero nodded. "He said he'll arrive as soon as he's done with the investigation work from the Shiguna neighbourhood incident." Habiki's blood chilled at its mention, the gears in his mind whirring.

Now, even Akaname's suspicions were beginning to fester. _'Earphone Jack, Tentacole and now Anima . . .?! Three top Heroes for a simple kidnapping case?!'_ He exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Habiki and realised similar suspicions were running through the raven-head's mind as well.

Unable to control himself anymore, Akaname regained his courage to speak up. "Sir." At the firm intonation of his voice, even the two Pro Heroes turned their gazes towards the bespectacled boy. As Hibari's silence encouraged him to continue, he asked, ". . . What exactly is happening with our friend?"

Burdened under the anxious stares of nervous teenagers, the Inspector scratched his head, his eyes flickering to Earphone Jack. She stared back at him for a few seconds before giving a short nod and swivelled to face the three, handing the files to Tentacole. "Alright . . . do you kids recognise the name Fujita Danuja?"

Sporting thoughtful expressions as they raced through the name in their mind, Habiki and Suzuran shook their heads with disappointment. Akaname's brows, however, were deeply furrowed over his sharp eyes and his tightened forehead was a clear sign that he was thinking hard. "The name is familiar but . . . I can't exactly recall who it is . . ."

Earphone Jack, Tentacole and Hibari all exchanged one long, worried look.

And Akaname and Suzuran were startled when Habiki suddenly pushed back his chair and jumped to his feet, his face turning stark white. "No . . . this can't be true . . ."

"H-Hara-san . . .?" The rose-haired girl called out, already frightened of what he'd uncovered.

Habiki froze into complete stillness, a clear bead of sweat rolling down his temple and dripping down onto the desk. Akaname swerved his head to Earphone Jack, his glare asking for answers.

As a student, Kyouka Jirou would've flinched at the terrifying look in those black pupils but she had grown hardened after facing down several merciless eyes over the years. But relenting, she decided she would reveal everything to them.

"Fujita Danuja . . . he is Fujita Hoshi's father. And he's also known as Graviton. Yes, _the_ Graviton – the wretched criminal who recently escaped Tartarus. The one they call Musutafu's most dangerous gangster."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 6:34 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

"-ra-san? Hara-san?! HARA-SAN!"

But no matter how much Kenio screamed into the phone, the line continued crinkling before it finally died after a single beep. He pulled it away from his ear and stared at it incredulously, unbelieving of his luck. There was not a single signal bar.

"Fuck! Your phone too?!" And, apparently, that was the case with everyone's phones. Inori solemnly shook her head as Reiko gritted her teeth in frustration and violently tapped at the screen of her phone. Everyone had pulled out their own phones and were furiously trying to call their contacts but it was of no use.

"Yeah, that ain't gonna work."

If not for Reiko and Inori's fast reflexes in pushing the boys away, the hefty mace would've cracked through their bones instead of thundering to the ground, splitting through the concrete. As the raven-head's limbs transformed into claws and the blonde's Ankle Wheels jutted out, the hulking man who'd just attacked them picked up his mace from the ground. And within seconds, it'd turned into an automatic rifle.

"We have this guy called Kogetsu who's Quirk can block all sorta electric communication." From behind the corner of the opposite building stepped out a shabby-haired man with disinterested eyes, walking towards the teenagers with languid footsteps. As they tried to turn around and run in the opposite direction, they saw a group of dozen men dashing towards them, guns drawn. "So ya're cell phones are practically useless until ya leave this area."

"Wow dude, you actually caught us!" Koji clapped his hands together and applauded admiringly, his eyes sparkling with awe as he stared at the men. "Rendering us unable to contact outside help and trying to cave us from behind – truly, what a third-grade, cliché idea! Something only mere henchmen could think of!"

The confused and angry expressions on their face were soon replaced by broken smiles which quickly morphed into rambling laughter.

"Ha ha, yeah, laugh more freely, my dudes! After all, laughter is the best medicine!" Koji cried, pointing at them and chuckling alone. "But then again, there is no medicine for villainy, is there? Heh heh heh!"

However, even though the men had been forced on their knees and had to clamp their arms around their stomachs to hold in their laughter, the approaching gangsters from behind had begun shooting at the students. "We need to leave. Now!" Inori wrapped a claw at the still rambling Koji and picked him up with ease, flying at ground level in order to stick together with her friends. Seeing their chance, the teens ran as fast as their legs could go, crossing the madly chortling males and entering the labyrinth of broken buildings.

Inori flew into a rather narrow alley cramped between a set of closely-placed, half-decayed apartments and was forced to furl in her wings due to lack of space. Koji jumped down on his feet and huffed out, "We must . . . run now . . . before they re . . . gain their bre . . . ath."

Without stopping for another second, the group ran through the constricted pathway of twisted alleys and dirty back-ways, forced to move in single file. The stench of sewage and dead animal carcasses was strong and Jigoku forced rising vomit down his food pipe, concentrating on thinking of a safe escape plan. Fortunately, Inori, who was at the lead, stated, "I can see an opening up ahead."

After what felt like an eternity passing through the stench tunnel, the students stumbled out of the alley and into a wide space, opening their mouths to suck in the fresh oxygen. Koji collapsed on his back, his chest heaving up and down heavily and his cheeks red from exhaustion, sweat plastered to his bangs and shirt.

"Aizawa-san, are you okay?" Yasu kneeled down beside him and taking out a handkerchief, dabbed away at the thin sheet of perspiration that covered the freckled teen's face and neck. The green-haired male gave him a thumbs up, panting with his mouth wide open.

"Man, these people are more alert than we thought," Jigoku muttered, wiping at the sweat on his temple with the back of his palm. Rounding up everyone with his gaze, he firmly intoned, "This is too much for us to handle. We need to leave _now_ and contact the Pro Heroes about this place." His eyes were narrow as they stared at Reiko and Inori, who still had hesitant expressions on their faces.

Emerging from their frantic run, they had unknowingly ended up on an empty construction site that lay between the slums and a tall, wide building in the distance. Recognising the faraway foliage of dense trees, Kasai was the first to realise that they were on the outskirts of south Musutafu – and when he noted that the grey building in the near distance had lights inside its windows, suspicions arose in his mind.

"Tejina-san is right." Kenio stepped forward, having tightened his ponytail. "This is too much for us to handle. And . . . besides . . ." His eyes were empty as they stared down at his sneakers "I'm not even sure if we should get involved in this."

Although his words had echoed through a mere whisper, their meaning hit Reiko loud and clear and filled her mind with confused anger. "What the fuck do you mean, Nakamura?!" she gritted, stepping threateningly towards him. "Not get involved?! Fujita is our friend!"

The sadness on the ginger's face was slowly being replaced with traces of repressed fury Inori had almost forgotten she'd seen on him. "If you knew what I knew, you would understand, Shimamura-san." The piercing coldness in his voice took her, and everyone else, aback.

"It's related to what Shimizu-san told you, isn't it, Nakamura-san?" Yasu asked as he helped Koji up, keeping his voice as gentle as possible to hopefully placate his classmates.

Taking in a deep breath to steel himself, Kenio nodded to the dirty blond's statement. "Hara-san told me that . . . that . . ." Bowing forward and unable to face anyone as he spoke, he forced out, "That Graviton is-"

"-Is Fujita-san's father!"

Silence cut through like a hot knife.

The crass pun he was about to make died on Koji's lips; Kasai completely froze, his eyes widening in horror; a cacophony of expressions flitted through Reiko's face, owing to her indecision of what she was to feel; Yasu tried to retain his composure but the confusion in his eyes hinted at the indecisive mental battle he was facing.

Jigoku stared at Kenio with a completely placid face. "Are you sure?" Refusing to look him in the eye, the ginger nodded.

Suddenly, Inori began looking around the place with wary eyes and quickly unfurled her wings. "Kenio, I need you to draw some of those flying helmets from before. We need to hide." Getting over his shock and nodding dutifully, he immediately set to work, fingers moving quickly and dexterously with skilled precision. Inori grabbed Koji and Reiko in each of her black claws and flew upwards, planning to infiltrate the roof of a fairly high building near them. Once they'd worn the copter helmets, the boys followed suit.

As soon as they reached mid-air, a whole gang of the black-suited men flooded the area they'd been occupying.

As Kenio and Kasai scrambled over the edge of the rooftop to get out of view, they could hear the shabby haired male yelling below. "They must be around here! They couldn't have gone far!" Heavy footsteps pattered down the alleys as the men chorused affirmations to their leader's instructions. "Search through each and every room of each and every apartment! Capture the residents if any of them are sheltering those brats! And nobody will hurt that green-haired twat – HE'S MINE!"

Peeking over the edge of the concrete banister, Koji whispered, "Too bad for you, Mr. Untidy Hair but unfortunately, I'm not into men."

Jigoku stood up and dusting his pants, stated, "Alright, fellas. This is our chance to escape." But when his classmates did not stir instead of eagerly jumping up like he'd expected them to, he asked, "Guys, what happened? Get up. We don't have much time before they begin pouring into this building and nab us."

Reiko stood up but the determined expression on her face immediately hinted at what she was thinking. "I'm sorry, Tejina, but I won't leave yet. Not before I find Fujita."

Jigoku's mouth thinned into a straight line. But before anyone could say anything, Reiko stood up and walked towards the banister, her slender figure straightened in determination. "I don't care what you guys think of me but after what Nakamura said . . . it gives me even more of a reason to save Fujita." When she turned to glance at them over her shoulder, her eyes were glazed with an indescribable pain. "Because right now, I know what she's feeling."

"Shimamura-chan, we only came here to check if the location was authentic or not." Koji's voice was flat and sharp, hinting at an end of patience. "And now that we've confirmed the location is real and Fujita-chan is really being held here, we will go and report this to dad and the other Pros." But the blonde still refused to look at any of them.

"I never said I was going to return after checking the location." Koji's eyes narrowed as Inori spoke up, their gazes clashing in a battle to overwhelm. "I am going to leave only after saving Fujita." Her words left no room for argument.

A brief flashback flitted through Jigoku's mind.

 _( "You have been saving each and every 'citizen' we've come across . . ." )_

' _Even during that time . ._ .'

 _( "I was wondering . . . is there a special reason behind that?" )_

' _It's like she was almost obsessed . . .'_

 _( "After we win the match, I'll tell you." )_

"And where do you plan to look for her, Tetsuya-san?" Yasu asked, stepping in between her and Koji. But instead of being contemptuous or sarcastic, it was clear he was only asking the question factually. "We're being hunted down by professional mobsters. It is impossible for us to elude them while searching for Fujita-san at the same time."

A look of enlightenment flashed on the raven-head's face as her eyes cleared up, her lips loosening from their clasped contour.

"Wouldn't it be better if we retreated for the time?" He then turned towards everyone and announced, "Besides, before coming, I'd already asked Kita-san to take the paper to the Pros. They should be on their way here by now, since it has already been an hour." Tilting his head to the side, it almost looked like he was smiling under the guise of his balaclava. "So we can safely retreat for now."

Reiko's face immediately lit up and she pumped a fist into the air, crying, "Way to go, Hanransha!" Jigoku breathed out in relief and even Kenio smiled weakly, looking like a heavy burden had just been lifted from his shoulders. Kasai, who stood near the banister and had been eyeing the large building all this while, looked over his shoulder and smiled.

But it was instantly wiped away from his face when he felt a voice speak close to his ear.

"I'm afraid it's too early for y'all to be relieved."

A harsh punch almost split Kasai's jaw in half as his body was sent rolling backwards, dragging against the ground before he felt someone catch him. Yasu glared furiously at the levitating man in front of them as he grabbed the cerulean-haired boy protectively in his arms. The shaggy-haired male from earlier balanced himself on the banister, staring down at the teens with his hands shoved in his pockets. "As I'd been saying, ya guys better forget about getting outta here or 'nyone comin' ta help ya at all." Running a hand through his messy locks, his dead eyes levelled them with a look of merciless pity.

"We'll show ya what happens to brats who stick their noses where they don' belong."

* * *

 **Villain Names: Saji and Koiwai**

 **Quirks: Levitation and Weapon Change**

 **Saji can levitate any living body in any direction he prefers through physical touch. Koiwai can change the form and structure of any weapon into a different weapon.**

 **P.S: Along with Ren and Kirisaki, they're considered to be the mobster Graviton's 'Fatal Four.'**

* * *

Stepping forward, Koji chuckled raucously. "Mr. Untidy Hair, you're back so soon? Looks like my jo-"

However, mid-sentence, his voice suddenly disappeared.

As the boy reached his hand up to his throat and clamped his fingers around his neck with disbelief, a sly smile spread over the male's face. Jumping down from the banister, he slowly began approaching the teens – and soon, dozens of mobsters were levitating towards the terrace. And one of them, a bald man with wide eyes, refused to take his eyes off an increasingly panicking Koji, who moved his lips noiselessly like a fish. But not one sound escaped.

Stopping midway, the fish-eyed male cracked his neck and mumbled, "Thought I recognised ya from somewhere but ya're Quirk helped me confirm ya're identity." As the freckled boy's eyes expanded with fear, the man continued speaking, "Aizawa Koji, first year U.A. student an' only son of the famous Eraserhead an' Ms. Joke. Quirk is called . . . Gutbuster or summin', right?" Scratching his head lazily, he seemed to be completely unaffected by the terrified gazes on the faces of the young teenagers. "Man, I thought Ren said we had nothin' to fear from ya guys. Well, he's rarely wrong but this gives me summin' to taunt him about."

"You bastard." Inori bared her teeth, showcasing a pair of enlarged canines. "What the fuck did you do to Koji's voice?"

"Hmmm?" He lazily opened an eye and a brief smile sat upon his lips. "Ah, ya're Tetsuya Inori, right? Another U.A. 1st year an' famous kid from a famous Pro Hero family. Man, Hoshi-chan's made some really famous friends, huh?"

"Don't take her name so casually, you asshole!" Reiko screamed, her arm held back by Kenio. Jigoku noticed the displeased look that sat over the light-haired man's face and swallowed the lump in his throat. _'This is bad. They haven't done anything yet but if he loses his temper and decides to attack us . . .'_

But instead of scowling or ordering his underlings to attack, the man tittered condescendingly. "I like ya're fire, girl. Since I'm amused by this 'rescue mission' all've ya are staging, I guess I'll chat a little more." Pointing a thumb to his bald subordinate, he drawled, "Well, ya're friend's voice has been currently 'cancelled' by Taneda here." Koji gritted his teeth at the sentence but no matter how loudly he tried to speak, his vocal cords wouldn't vibrate. "As long as he can steal a direct look at a person's eyes, he can steal any one of their five senses." And just as suddenly, his voice snapped from uninterested to venomous. "So zip ya're stupid jokes before I decide to rip ya're lips off, kid."

The jokester immediately shut his mouth.

"Where is Fujita?!" Reiko was, on the other hand, either completely stupid or completely undeterred. "Where have you bastards kept her?!"

"Oi, oi," the man's left eye twitched with annoyance, "I may like ya're fire, girl, but I hate kids who can't respect adults." Before the blonde could say anything in retaliation, Kenio slammed a palm over her mouth, letting only muffled insults escape.

"Saji." The one who spoke was the tall hulk who had almost crushed the teenagers with his mace. "We can't waste anymore time here. Boss has been requesting our presence."

A disappointed expression briefly appeared on Saji's face before it was replaced by his signature nonchalant expression, dead fish eyes resting upon the scared kids for a final time. "Alright, brats. Looks like chatting time is over." As the men behind him drew their guns, nozzles pointing towards the teens, Saji gave all of them a wry smile. "Don't worry, I'll tell Hoshi-chan all of ya were here ta visit."

"Guys." It was Kenio's whisper that broke through the panic in their minds. "I want you all to be ready."

"Now finally," Saji raised a hand into the air, looking incredibly pleased, "There will be no one to come between Boss and his treasured family."

But right before he could lower his hand, the ginger threw a pink, viscous blob towards them. For a few seconds, all of the gangsters couldn't help but stare at it – and that was enough time for it to explode over them and spread a thick, nauseating gas.

"Now's our chance!" Once the gas began expanding rapidly over the terrace, Kenio and Yasu both grabbed Koji and Reiko and flew into the other direction. "Run, guys, run!" Thankfully, the copter hats the ginger had drawn hadn't dissipated yet.

As a hail of bullets rained from behind, Inori unfurled her wings to a gigantic size and spread them out, hardening them to black feathers of steel. She provided cover as the others took to the skies and once there was a break in the barrage, adjusted her wings to their original form and followed them.

"AFTER 'EM!"

Saji yelled, pressing a handkerchief over his mouth as he felt his eyes water from the gas' rancidity. It emitted a potently rotten smell but they were professionals used to such grisly events and powering through, rushed after the teenagers. Some of them released their Quirks and followed after the escapees by jumping down the building while Saji used his Quirk on the rest so that they could give chase.

"EVERYONE!" Kasai's body rotated uncontrollably as he gyrated towards the ground. "I am definite that Fujita-san is located in that grey building across the construction site!"

The words rung clearly in their minds but no one had time to reply. For shooting men rushed straight after them, bullets ricocheting in their direction as they landed to the ground. And being unable to communicate, the group of seven ran in three different directions, separating and disappearing into the alleyways.

Landing on the ground, Saji and Koiwai were about to give chase before the communicator on former's ear buzzed to connection.

"Saji."

The male stopped dead in his tracks, holding out a hand to bring the whole horde to a pause. "Yes, Boss."

"I want you and Koiwai back in the building. Immediately."

"Yes, Boss. We are on our way." Once the communicator buzzed off, Saji turned towards all of his men. "Not a single one of those brats should escape! Hunt through every single nook if ya hafta!" He signalled to Koiwai, who immediately began rushing in the direction of their hideout – but before Saji followed, he had one final order.

"Try to catch the green-haired boy and the black-haired girl alive. They'll make for juicy ransoms. However, if they resist too much-"

"-Kill them along with the rest."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 6:57 p.m. - ?)**

She stared at the faded brown walls with listless eyes, watching every slick of paint peel away from the old plaster underneath. The bed she sat on had broken springs jut out of its mattress but the covers lying around her felt warm.

 _( "Fujita-san, you're late!" Asuna glared, annoyed, as she handed her a soft packet. "Do you know how hard it was to get this limited edition honey bread without help?!"_

" _N-Nishiya-san! F-Fujita-san!" A flushed and somewhat dishevelled Suzuran emerged from the harrowing crowd of hungry students queued near the food counter. She precariously held three bottles of flavoured milk in her thin arms. "I-I finally managed to get these special strawberry milkshakes today!" She cried, smiling at her friends._

" _Good job, Asagumo-san!" Asuna flashed her a thumbs up. "Tomorrow, Fujita-san, it'll be your turn to queue for lunch, alright?" The brunette grinned at her mischievously. )_

Hoshi wrapped her arms around her knees and hid her face between them, unwilling to embrace the tears that were pooling out her eyes. The room was cold and big and lonely, guarded by a sturdy door locked from the outside. Not a single window was in sight.

 _( "What do you want?"_

 _Kazumi glared at her through the acidic pools of amber she possessed, looking like she would've killed her if not for the presence of their classmates. And all Hoshi had done was skip to her desk and wish her goodbye before they walked home._

 _Koji, who'd been hovering near Jobu's desk situated right in front of the lamia's, covered his mouth and guffawed. "My, my, Enoshima-chan! You are the pinnacle of politeness, aren't you?! I'm sure you're the one they talk about in our moral science books!"_

 _The redhead flipped him off, a long tongue snaking out threateningly in his direction. "I don't care if you're the son of Aizawa-sensei, you pathetic clown but direct another one of your clever comments at me and I'll make sure that is the_ _ **last**_ _thing you can utter."_

 _And of course, Koji being Koji, he only proceeded to make a show of exaggeratedly chortling. )_

"I . . . will never see them again."

Hoshi's hands tightened around her thighs as she buried her face deeper into the self-induced darkness, away from the dim white lights that illuminated the room. The torrent of gunshots in the distance awakened horrid memories that had long been suppressed, each bullet tearing down the walls she'd built to compose herself.

"Mamma . . ."

 _( "Mamma will always be here for you, Hoshi."_

 _The little girl snuggled into her blankets to suppress her tears but each successive sob racked through her small frame and escaped with violent quivering. Her mother was smiling down at her, doing her best to plaster soothing cheer on her exhausted face. Her bony, dry fingers eased through the sweaty curls of her daughter's scalp._

" _No matter what happens, what danger comes our way, your mamma will ALWAYS be here for you, Hoshi."_

 _And when she pressed her warm lips to her forehead, the girl temporarily forgot just how terribly she missed her father. )_

"I want to go back . . ."

Hoshi lay flat on the bed, pressing her tear-stained face against an old but fragrant pillow. Her sobs were silent but potent bursts of grief that ravaged her, sending her into a hollow world of sorrow.

"I want to see them. Mumma, my friends . . ."

"I WANT TO SEE THEM!"

". . . You ungrateful bitch."

Ren stood pressed against the door of her room, viciously chewing on his thumbnail to curb his violent urges. Oh, how he wanted to march into the room, grab that small brat's neck in his hands and snap her neck in half. Watch as the light faded from her eyes and her head hung to the side, bent painfully.

"You . . . have so many people to love you. That's why you can never understand . . ."

As his nails scratched against the door, his palms slowly began to phase into furry, sharp claws. Claws that belonged to a wild beast.

". . . You can never understand what it means to be alone. Completely alone and unloved."

However, with deep breaths and a lot of effort, he was able to calm himself down. As he peeled himself away from the door and began walking down the long corridor, he sneered.

"But no worries. Once the helicopter is here, there will be no going back. The Boss will have what he wants."

 _( In a dark, abandoned alleyway, the sapphire-haired man picked up the bloody and half-dead child._

" _Don't worry, kid. I'll make sure you live." )_

"And his happiness . . . that's the only thing that matters to me."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:01 p.m. – Police Station)**

"No . . . You're lying."

Hibari had seen it a hundred times – the heartbreak, the pain, the denial, the resentment, the fury, the sorrow, and the vicious cycle the emotions destroyed people in. But when he saw the exact moment the woman broke, the moment her tired eyes lost all hope . . . he was once again reminded of just how painful the world was to everyone.

"It can't be true. It can't. IT CAN'T!" Rin Fujita jumped up from her chair and her long hair immediately fell away from her sloppy bun, tumbling over her pale face and thin shoulders. She was shaking violently, rubbing her palms furiously against her arms as she viciously glared at the female officer who tried to comfort her. "I refuse to believe this! How . . . HOW DID MY DAUGHTER-?! How. How?! Just how . . . How. How. How. How. _How."_

"Ma'am, please calm down . . .," the lady tried to approach her a second time.

Hibari sighed. He wondered if he could call Deku from the private office and have him handle this. He had, after all, an almost abnormal level of charisma when it came to people.

"I told her . . . I told her that it was dangerous. I told her not to go. No, it's not her fault. It's not. It's mine . . ." Rin slid to the floor, thin arms weakly held onto the edge of the wooden table. "It's mine . . . for being such a weak, pathetic woman." Her voice was racked with tears, words broken and partly unintelligible as they bubbled out of her. "I'm such a . . . such a . . . horrible, horrible mother . . ."

"Fu- _Rin-_ san." Hibari quickly corrected himself, well-acquainted with victim psychology, as he tried to lift her up. "Please . . . get a hold of yourself."

But she repeatedly shook her head, blinded and deafened by her grief. "I'm a failure . . . a complete failure. That sweet child . . . she already had a demon for a father but even . . . even her mother . . . even her mother is useless. Pathetic! Completely _useless_!"

She raised a hand to punch herself but before Hibari could stop her, a gloved palm had already halted it in mid-air.

"No, ma'am, you're not useless."

When Rin looked up through her bleary eyes, what stood in front of her looked like a green Angel. One with determined emeralds for eyes.

' _Oh, thank All Might.'_ Hibari felt some semblance of relief flood him.

Deku picked up the frail woman, warm hands gently clasped around her thin shoulders as he helped her to a chair.

"You're a strong mother – one who fiercely loves and cares for her child and has held herself together all this while."

She shook her head, breaking down completely and shoving her face between her clinched palms.

Earphone Jack and Tentacole stood near the doorway, offering privacy out of respect. Outside, in the hallway, a shaking Kagami sat surrounded by Akaname, Suzuran and Habiki, who were trying their best to console her.

Quiet anger simmered on Deku's face, lighting his eyes up with an eerie glow.

"Don't worry, Rin-san." He patted the woman on the shoulder before making his way outside. "We'll definitely get Hoshi-chan back to you before this night ends."

"And that's a _promise_."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:03 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

Yasu didn't know where he was running to. All he knew as he manoeuvred through the narrow alleys, with Reiko following close behind, was that they had to get a reasonable distance away from this place. As soon as possible.

But behind them, the thundering patters of footsteps seemed to grow louder.

"Shimamura-san." He called, a little out of breath, to the blonde behind him. "Use your Quirk and escape. Please. And get the police here."

Even before he'd spoken, he knew her answer. "HELL NO!" Her voice was angry and clenched, splitting through his eardrums. "Are you off your honkers, Hanransha?! Do you fucking think I'm just gonna abandon you like that?!"

He shook his head, his long bangs sweaty as they muddled his eyes. Pushing them back, he tried to calmly explain to her. "Listen, Shimamura-san. Right now, you're our best chance of communicating with the outside world and getting help. We can't use our cell phones anymore and have no idea where the others could even be. So, please-"

"I SAID FUCK NO."

They jumped over a littered trash bag in the way, trying to ignore the dark crimson pooling out of it and the horrible stench that invaded their nostrils. Thankfully, the area was dark and only dimly lit by dull specks of light from the windows of the shabby slums, making them almost blind to anything unsightly. As both teens forced bile down their throats and continued running, Reiko gagged a little before she spoke. "Su . . . ugh . . . ch horrible people . . . You think I can leave you alone with them?!"

' _I can handle myself.'_ But no, he couldn't say that this time. The people they were up against were professional mobsters. Villains who'd kill them on sight. And there was a whole group of them.

' _Satori, if you were here . . . do you think we could've handled it together?'_

Up ahead, he could see an end to the line of buildings – which would mean they would now be out in the open, easy targets for gunfire.

' _Think, Yasu, think. Just how do we turn the situation to our favour?'_

"OI, I CAN SEE THEM UP AHEAD!" A man yelled from behind them. A torrent of gunshots was immediately fired but fortunately, missed the teens due to their supposed lack of sight, ricocheting off apartment walls.

"Fuck, Hanransha, they're almost here! Run harder!" Reiko cried, pushing against his back. The blond sped up, kicking his long limbs as hard as he could but the strain in his muscles jolted with pain due to continuous exertion. His lungs were minutes away from giving out.

As they broke through, finally in the realm of fresh air, Yasu realised they had reached what seemed to be a garbage dump. The smell that hit them was ten times more potent than all the sewage they'd encountered in the alleyways. Reiko spat out in disgust as they were face to face with tall mounds of all of the city's wastage, collected in heaps and piled on top of each other as flies and other detestable insects crawled everywhere. He grabbed the girl's hand and just as they ducked behind a large, broken refrigerator, their pursuers reached the open space right behind them.

The gunshots that rung in the cool night air were like bells of death that tolled the end of their lives. Reiko shook in fright, completely clamped up, as the tall boy threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. His grip was firm and strong, belying the panic his mind was going through.

' _Think, Yasu, think! Didn't Deku-sensei once say there's a way to survive in each and every situation?! Like I and Satori did that very day? How . . . just how can we survive this situation?'_

"Oi, brats! We know you're behind there! We've seen you!"

"You know, if you guys come out quietly, we'll make sure to give you nice, painless deaths. You're just nosy kids, after all. But quick . . . because we're not very patient."

"COME OUT THIS INSTANT! Otherwise we'll just barrage you with bullets until they pierce through that scrap piece of metal and through your lungs!"

Even amidst the screams, all Yasu could focus on was the deafening sound of his heart. Reiko clutched his shirt in her tiny palms, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

"Hanransha." Her voice was so low and fragile, so uncharacteristic of the hyper, reckless girl he knew. "I'm scared . . . I'm really scared."

His arm clamped tighter around her.

' _JUST THINK! What can I do?!'_

The mobsters in the distance clicked their tongues in annoyance, before reloading their guns.

"Brats, you've really annoyed us now. Time is up."

They immediately began firing, bullets after bullets rapidly clashing against the refrigerator. Although each shot was deflected by the metal, the impact of it hurt through the bones of the teens' body, making them realise that eventually, one would pass and puncture through them.

But over the roaring volley of bullets, both parties were unaware of the figure that was zooming straight towards the gangsters, flying at a speed that tore through the wind itself.

Even before they could realise it, a heavy figure crashed into the men, completely taking them by surprise and sending them hurtling on the ground. The impact of it seemed to shake through the very earth itself, throwing both blondes off balance as they wondered what just happened. But all they could focus on was the fact that the shooting had stopped.

As Yasu and Reiko cautiously peeked out from behind the refrigerator, the dust in the air slowly began to subside, revealing a figure trying to stagger to their feet. The duo crawled out and slowly stood up, trying to check what had happened. They were left to goggle once they noticed that all of the half a dozen gangsters had been somehow knocked out or lay groaning on the dirt.

As she slowly inched towards them and the limping figure, Reiko squinted her eyes to see through the dust.

And finally, moonlight broke through and illuminated the male's spiky dark hair and blue eyes that glittered like luminous fire.

She stopped short, her arms going completely limp by her sides as her jaw almost hinged open.

"I . . . Itou?!"

Yasu rubbed at his eyes, wondering if he was dreaming. But no matter how much he did that, all he could see was Haruka stare at them placidly, wiping at the blood that trailed down his lips.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?"

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Pinky: Alright, my homies! The results of the polls are in! I will be announcing the top 5 characters who received the highest number of votes! And they are:**

 **3** **rd** **place (tied with 6 votes) – Tetsuya Inori**

 **3** **rd** **place (tied with 6 votes) – Enoshima Kazumi**

 **3** **rd** **place (tied with 6 votes) – Kenshi Ryo**

 **2** **nd** **place (with 8 votes) – Nakamura Kenio**

 **1** **st** **place (with 10 votes) – Madou Mashiro**

 **Inori: . . . That's higher than I thought I'd go.**

 **Kazumi: Huh. It's all because of power. Power stands ON TOP. Just you wait, Nakamura-san and Madou-san – next time, I WILL beat you.**

 **Ryo: What the-?! Are ya people autistic or retarded or something?! You voted for ME?! *blushes crimson* T-Thanks . . . morons.**

 **Kenio: O/O Oh my Lemillion, I'm second! I'M ACTUALLY SECOND! Kyaaaaaaaaaahhhh!**

 **Mashiro: AWWWWW, THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE! You guys are such adorable cuties! Special hugs and kisses to all those who voted for me! ;)**

 **Inori: So . . . what's the special prize we're getting?**

 **Pinky: XP That's a secret that'll be revealed a few chapters later!**

 **All of them: That's not fair!**

 **Pinky: *whispers to the readers* Don't tell them that special artwork featuring them will be released in collaboration with Belladonna Swan!**

 **All: Thank you for the votes and all your encouraging reviews! See you next time!**


	20. Ch 19 - From Father to Daughter

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 19 – From Father To Daughter**

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:17 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

"I-Itou?! What are YOU doing here?!" Reiko almost lost her footing on an automatic rifle as she dashed towards the dark-haired boy. But the shock on her face belied the immense relief that bloomed in her heart.

Haruka stared at the groaning mobsters that lay in the shallow crater he'd created, visage completely unreadable. Raising one of his steel legs, he replied, "My family owns this garbage dump. I often come here to train."

And then he mercilessly stomped his foot down on the arm of a fallen man; the sickening crunch of cracking bones twined with the pained screams that escaped his lips.

Yasu and Reiko were completely frozen to their spots as they watched Haruka – silent, composed, practical Itou Haruka – brutally beat up the five men, injuring their arms and legs by twisting the muscles and crushing them under his feet. When two of them tried to reach for their displaced guns, the boy was quick to react and jumped down on each of their arms, mercilessly emotional in his actions. They yelled out curses and howls of pain as their bones fractured, saliva dribbling out their mouths.

"Villainous scum like you don't deserve to cry in pain." With those words, he kicked the sternum of one of the men, ignoring the yells that escaped his throat.

"Itou-san, _STOP_." Yasu hissed, traumatised at the cruelty of his classmate. Reiko was staring at him, hands fearfully clamped over her mouth. "You've already broken their limbs!"

With not a trace of guilt or sentiment, Haruka turned back to stare at the blond with cold eyes, even as he cleanly twisted the arm of another mobster. "If I correctly remember, they were trying to kill you."

For a moment, the masked boy was at a loss for words.

"Yes, but-! Isn't this enough?!" All those screams, howls of pain, cries of horror . . . even if they were villains, even _they_ had to have a threshold of pain they could tolerate.

Besides, no _Hero_ would ever do what Haruka was doing.

After a stare-down between the two, the shorter boy sighed and pulled away, looking a little disappointed. "I only hope your mercy doesn't get you killed someday, Hanransha." Yasu gulped down the lump in his throat as Haruka walked towards him, neon eyes unfamiliarly brutal.

However, he actually proceeded to walk past the traumatised duo before stopping a little away from them. "Now, before they manage to contact others, you both can help. Hanransha, use Bad Blood and melt away their weapons." It took a few seconds for Yasu to respond but he was quick to get to work. "And, Shimamura." Reiko jerked up to look at Haruka, almost as if she was waking out of a trance. "Help me find something to gag and tie them with."

She followed after him numbly, almost like she was unsure of how to act anymore.

Running his hand through his locks, the boy sighed as he scanned the dumpsters for waste cloth and ropes. "And in the meanwhile, you can explain just what the hell you both are doing in my neighbourhood."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:09 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

"They must be somewhere out here! LOOK PROPERLY!"

"Try to catch the girl alive! Kill the boy though!"

"Dammit, just where the fuck are those brats hiding?!"

Inori peeked down at the men from the tin-roofed apartment she lay flat against, counting a total of seven mobsters. Kasai, who was pressed close to her side, raked in deep, nervous breaths. But all she felt as she peered down at them was suppressed rage hammer away at her insides, a familiar voice screeching in her mind.

' _ **They kidnapped your friend. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them. KILL THEM. KILL THEM. KILLTHEMKILLTHEMKILLTHEMKILLTHEMKILLTHEMKILLTHEM-**_

 _ **Or are you too weak to do so?'**_

"Tetsuya-san." It was Kasai grabbing at her sleeve and looking at her through soft, anxious eyes that broke through the screams. "What do we do?"

' _ **KILL THEM.'**_

"Can you use your gas to debilitate them?" she mumbled, not taking her eyes off the men as they scattered around and searched through the houses, still having no clue as to the teens' whereabouts. As soon as an intersection had separated them, Inori had grabbed her blue-haired classmate and flown up to a roof, determined to figure out a way to defeat their pursuers, find the others and rescue Hoshi.

Kasai looked a little hesitant at the suggestion. "I could but . . ." The mental image of when he'd almost burned her and Akaname and Jigoku to a crisp refreshed in his mind. He blinked rapidly, trying to shake them out. ". . . That'd mean you'd be susceptible to it, too."

She briefly turned to glance at him. "Didn't I tell you poison does not affect me?"

' _Of course you did. I can never forget that moment.'_

The first person he'd met on who Death Breath hadn't worked, someone who was immune to the lethal venom that coursed through his body. But even then-

An image of Inori's corpse, shrivelled and blue, flashed through his mind.

He forced back the vomit that pooled at the base of his throat.

"Hitori."

When he looked up at her, she was staring straight back, gunmetal piercing through his very skin.

"If you can't trust yourself, just trust me."

The words struck Kasai, hitting at a nostalgic memory precious to him.

 _( "What do you think makes a Hero different from a citizen?" He asked, challenging him to get up and fight back._

 _The young boy had to cough out the accumulated phlegm in his mouth before he could answer. ". . . I . . . don't know, sir."_

 _The man's eyes were blazing fire, rubies of unshackled passion._

" _You have to trust in yourself, understand?! As a Hero, you have to be confident of and trust in your own abilities and strength! Because if you can't trust yourself first, no one can!" )_

' _. . . Then, I'll trust the both of us.'_

"Where the hell are they?!" A hunk with a mohawk gritted his teeth as he kicked down the door of one of the slums, revealing a cowering mother and child who quickly dashed away to another room. Even his subordinates did not seem to have any luck as they exited the shabby apartments, heads shaking with disappointment. "Tch!" He punched a wall with a rock-hard fist, causing the three-storied building to shake on its very foundations.

But suddenly, a strong whiff caught his nose. "What's . . . this?"

Within seconds, the entire area was covered in a blanket of hazy pink gas, so potent in its rancid stench that it brought tears to the men's eyes. Soon, they were hacking their lungs out as the gas seeped into their bodies through their nostrils and mouths, burning through their windpipe and corroding their very organs.

"Gah . . . what the . . . blegh . . . fuck . . . ugh . . .!" The hunk dropped to the floor, letting go of his gun in the process; snot, tears and saliva streamed down his face and stained the dirt below. His insides felt like they were being roasted on charcoal and the pain was excruciating – so excruciating, in fact, that he didn't notice the figure creeping up on him from behind.

Inori didn't even give him a chance to properly scream before she roughly grabbed his hair and jabbed him harshly with her fingers, right below his throat. He was soon out like a light, his voice fading before he could call for help.

Kasai watched with a half-awed, half-scared gaze as the raven-head proceeded to knock out the mobsters, moving freely even within Death Breath's toxic veil. Even though she hadn't completely morphed into her Monster form, her movements were strong and fluid, seeming like they'd been strengthened by experience. The incapacitated mobsters were like sitting figures waiting to be beaten down, unable to do anything to defend themselves.

She was done within two minutes.

"Let's move," she nodded towards him, tucking a sweaty bang behind an ear. He nodded and soon enough, they were moving out of the pink miasma and running in the direction of the construction site, the place they'd escaped from earlier.

Fixing his respirator, Kasai spoke. "Hopefully, Nakamura-san and the others will be heading towards the white building as well! Or, at least, escaping!"

Somehow, during the ruckus earlier, they'd all gotten separated. Even though his jaw throbbed painfully from when the shabby-haired guy had punched it, his respirator had taken the brunt of the force.

' _If not, I'm sure my jaw would've been dislocated by now.'_

"We'll search for them after we save Fujita." Inori mumbled, leading the way as they slinked within the dark spots of the barely lit alleyways. Remembering Erika's advice from the past, she'd decided not to use her wings – it'd gain them extra attention and this rescue mission required covertness.

' _Not like I'm any good at that. Nagi and Suzune were always the best at it.'_ The duo ducked behind a trash bin, looked around for signs of their pursuers and once they were fairly certain of their safety, pressed on ahead.

And then there was pain.

A sharp, burning pain scraped by Inori's arm.

"You idiot! What's wrong with your aim?!"

"It's fucking dark in here, man! Why don't you try it?!"

But by the time the hail of bullets had greeted them again, Inori and Kasai had ducked behind a trash bin.

"Tetsuya-san!" Kasai looked aghast at the trail of blood that slithered down her arm. "Y-You've been shot!"

"Chill out, Hitori, it's just a scrape."

' _It hurts like a bitch though.'_

The barrage of bullets was deafening as they ricocheted against the metal and collided against the weakly plastered walls of the buildings. She tried to ignore the pain and the thundering of the shooting guns but for some strange reason, even her back was beginning to throb.

' _What the fuck's wrong with my body?'_ However, she had no time to dwell on the fact because as soon as the bullets stopped, rapid footsteps were heard rushing at them.

Inori struck out one of her gigantic claws in barely enough time to block the strike she received from the man . . . but hissed in pain as hot skin burned raw into her scales. Flying back and narrowly dodging backup bullets, she clutched her singed arm and glared at the ponytailed arrival blowing on his palms, which gleamed red hot.

"Looks like I can have a fun battle after a long time," he smirked, cracking his neck side-to-side. However, when a hazy pink gas began inching towards him, his nostrils began to burn at their whiff and he was forced to back off, retreating towards his teammates standing in the distance.

"Tetsuya-san, this way!" Kasai yelled, grabbing the girl's uninjured hand as they dashed behind a cluster of the rundown apartments and began running through the cramped back-way, jumping over sewage pipes, littered trash and whatever unidentifiable object that lay on the ground. But their pursuers clearly hadn't given up as their footsteps thundered behind. The sound of metal clasps – bullets being loaded – reverberated in the cramped space.

' _If I just had my gauntlets, I could've fucking burnt them all to a dry crisp!'_ Kasai gritted his teeth, justified anger simmering through him. He didn't even know where they were running to anymore; if they were moving closer to or farther away from their classmates. _'So stupid . . . we shouldn't have come here!'_ How could they save Hoshi if they were unable to even properly defend _themselves_?

"Hitori. We have to take a stand and take them out right here and right now."

". . . Huh?!" He felt her hand leave his grasp and before he could even contemplate what was happening, Inori had taken to the night skies, leaving him down completely undefended. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" The boy yelled, feeling completely pissed as he ripped off his respirator – pissed at himself, pissed at the annoying gangsters chasing them and pissed at the reckless, uncommunicative girl he was stuck with.

Spotting a completely open target right in front of him, the ponytail gangster overheated his palms and sprinted towards the boy at full speed, planning to take him down before the gas could do him too much harm. Kasai saw him approaching and throwing away his respirator, yelled with full rage, "COME AT ME, YOU FUCKING PEST! LET'S SEE WHO BURNS WHO FIRST!"

Cerise eyes were narrowed in berserk anger.

"I'M SICK AND TIRED OF BEING THE SENSIBLE STUDENT! IF MY CLASSMATES WANNA GO BALLS, I'M GONNA SHOW THEM HOW FUCKIN' BALLS _I_ CAN GO!"

For a moment, everyone – the shooting mobsters, the ponytail guy, even mid-flight Inori – stopped and stared at the sudden trigger in the blue-haired boy's behaviour.

' _Damn. Suzune was right. When the nice ones snap, they snap HARD.'_

"WHAT'S THE MATTER, YOU BALDING COWARD?!" Kasai screamed, scared but livid. "WHY'D YOU PAUSE?! COME AT ME IF YOUR PONYTAIL'S WORTH ANYTHING, YOU THIRD-RATE HENCHMAN!" Death Breath floated around him like a dense fog of venom and decease.

But now egged on, the man kicked himself into action and with his palms jutting forward, ran straight towards the boy.

Meanwhile, Inori used the momentary distraction to swoop down behind the backup shooters, planning to take them down before they could notice her. However, when she got close enough, they turned to face her and immediately changed their shooting trajectory, guns pointed upwards. Clicking her tongue, she folded her wings in front of her and hardened them, trying to cover as much of her body. As the bullets ricocheted off, they sent powerful tinges through her nerves.

And now that her wings weren't keeping her up in the air anymore, she fell through the air straight towards the gangster duo. Their shots grew rapid out of panic . . . until both guns clicked empty.

The same thought went through the minds of both of them.

' _. . . Fuck.'_

"Huh?" At the screams of his teammates, the ponytail man looked over his shoulders – only to see the girl with the huge wings and claws beating them up like they were ragdolls. And the moment of distraction took its toll when a concise punch, powerful enough to make stars float before his eyes, struck his jaw.

"DON'T GET DISTRACTED WHEN YOU'RE FIGHTING ME, YOU BASTARD!" Kasai yelled as he pushed all his rage and fury into his fist. Instead of staying within the protective realm of his Quirk, he'd decided to throw himself into combat and knock out the enemy before he could be taken out – wise words his mentor always iterated. Without waiting for another second, Kasai threw a second punch right under the man's diaphragm, putting extra force in it by using his hips and thighs for momentum.

' _Damn, aren't they just high school kids?"_ were the man's last thoughts before the pink gas did the rest of the work and overpowered his already injured body, pervading his nostrils and mouth. As he coughed and hacked away, the image of a furious boy with an ugly scar and a girl with the coldest eyes he'd ever seen were the last imprints on his mind as it lost consciousness.

Soon enough, all three of them had been knocked cold.

Kasai sighed in relief as he blew on his aching knuckles. _'Thankfully, that somehow worked out.'_ But when he turned his gaze to the side, he saw Inori closely peering at his face, her usually expressionless eyes slightly wide with interest. It was then that the blue-haired boy realised that in his heated rage, he'd hurled his respirator somewhere.

Which meant his face was now completely exposed.

His hands immediately flew up for cover. _'Oh no, my scar-!'_ The boy flushed with dread and embarrassment as he turned his back to her, shaking and waiting for derisive comments and judgemental looks. Fragments of his past that would never truly leave him.

For a while, she said nothing.

"I-It's ugly, right?" he forced out, trying to sound as composed as possible. Instead of replying, Inori simply just walked around his side and stood in front of him again. Sighing and steeling himself, Kasai pulled his palms away and stared at her through the shadows of his bangs, not daring to lift his face up. She was still quiet, not speaking a word.

When he finally dared to look up, decidimh on facing her disgust head-on, he was surprised to see her eyes weren't revolted or condescending.

Instead, they seemed to be looking at him with subtle wonder.

"You know, Hitori," she leaned forward, eyes roving over his bare visage, "Now that I see, you have a cute face."

". . . Eh?"

" _ **You have a cute face."**_

" _ **-a cute face."**_

" _ **. . . cute face."**_

' _EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!'_

"W-W-W-What are you saying, Tetsuya-san?!" Kasai stepped back, palms flying up to hide his crimson face. "N-Not at all! I-I have this ugly scar an-and-!"

Shrugging detachedly, Inori replied, "Well, whatever you say, you do have a cute face." The boy froze and shook his head rapidly, unable to chase off his blush. As the pink gas around them hovered everywhere, she mumbled, "However, we have to do something about your Quirk." That perked Kasai out of his self-induced embarrassment.

Taking a few steps forward, Inori glanced at him over her shoulder. "We should look for Kenio. He can draw a new mask for you." He nodded stiffly, still refusing to look her in the eye.

As they began running towards the direction of the white building, Kasai couldn't help replaying Inori's words in his mind.

" _ **You have a cute face . . ."**_

The words seemed to be playing on loop, repeating themselves over and over and causing a funny tingle to spread through his heart.

' _She . . . thinks I'm cute . . .?'_

As they ran through the strangely empty alleyways, navigating under broken and faint lights, he glanced at the raven-head's back.

' _For some reason . . . I feel warm._

* * *

 **Villain Names: Ren and Kirisaki**

 **Quirks: Animorph and Lengthening**

 **Animorph allows Ren to take the form of any sort of animal he wishes and is granted all of their abilities. However, he needs to take a ten second break between each transformation, where he is briefly turned into a human. Kirisaki can use Lengthening to elongate any portion of his body to any degree he wants.**

 **P.S: Ren is the youngest member of Graviton's entourage while Kirisaki is one of his oldest aides, back from when they were just starting out in the underworld.**

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:14 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

"Dammit! It's like they won't stop chasing us!"

"Of course they won't. And because of Mr. Goggle Eyes, I can't even use Gutbuster."

After Kenio had created a distraction, the three boys had somehow been able to use the bought time to scamper inside a tiny, abandoned shack tucked in a negligible corner behind the slums and hide out of vision. It was only when the thudding footsteps outside faded into the distance that they allowed themselves to breathe out loud.

Kenio sighed with exhaustion as he slid against a wall, dropping down on the ground.

"If I'd just got my gadgets," Jigoku sat with his knees buckled against his chest, "I would've been able to help Nakamura-san."

"Well, yeah . . . you can't exactly defeat armed gangsters with playing cards." Koji was the only one whose spirits hadn't been deflated by the situation they'd ran into.

"You aren't exactly useful right now either, Aizawa." Jigoku tried to retort as calmly as possible, not letting the hurt ego bite into his tone.

"That Taneda man is certainly dangerous." Kenio nervously stated, clenching his hands. "Using only his eyes, he can render any of us completely blind or deaf . . ."

Suddenly, something in the freckled ginger's words struck Jigoku.

"Nakamura." Kenio turned to his horned classmate. "Do you think you could get me physically close to Baldy?"

He and Koji exchanged a confused glance before the former slowly replied, "It'll be difficult . . . but-!" His eyes began gaining a sparkle. "Do you have a plan, Tejina-san?!"

Peeling out a card from his forearm, the crimson-eyed boy flashed him a nervous smile. "I just may."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Taneda cocked his gun after exiting one of the slum houses – apparently, none of the cowering beggars had seen hide or hair of any of those bratty teenagers. And he was certain they weren't lying; threats of brutal torture and rape would break down any petty defence they had. People struggling to scrape by life themselves didn't have the luxury to help others.

"Any sign of them?"

All of his underlings shook their heads at the query.

The moon was now in full view in the eastern sky, a sphere of pale luminescence that cast the furtive world around them in a pale glow. The gang had decided that a few of them would spread out and check out on the other groups while the rest would spread out and search further outward for the three teenage boys. However, before they could move out, rushing footsteps echoed close to their vicinity.

Without wasting time, shots were fired but they seemed to bounce off something metallic – in the distance, moonlight glinted off a funny-looking, moving silver shield. And as they rushed towards it, two small, cylindrical objects skittered towards the men from behind the shield.

One of them realised its purpose sooner than the others. "Move back! That's a-!"

A piercing sound vibrated through the whole area and a violent sonorous ringing assailed their eardrums. Simultaneously, thick black smoke erupted from the grenades and with a heavy viscosity, blinded and choked whoever was unfortunate to be caught within it unprotected.

"What the hell is this?!" Taneda sputtered out, rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the smog.

On the other side of the dark fog, the three U.A. students were completely prepped for battle.

"Tejina, go, go, GO!" Koji yelled as soon as Kenio had finished the last stroke of paint on his body, wiping away beads of perspiration from his forehead. Decked in a hastily drawn bulletproof vest with bulletproof pads on his legs and arms plus donning a gas mask, goggles and a helmet, Jigoku took staggering but steady footsteps as he rushed amidst the confused mass of panicked gangsters and aimlessly fired gunshots.

The plan was hastily drawn and risky but it was their only chance. And the only one who could pull off the clincher and carry its success was Jigoku.

' _It's now or never!'_ Behind him were backup troops – a dozen or so small cartoonish soldiers sent to engage the remaining mobsters as distractions. Although moving was a tedious task with all the heavy gear he was wearing, he was thankful for them as two stray bullets struck against his lower stomach and left arm. The force did knock him down but the padding had saved him from getting directly wounded.

' _Welp, I'm sure there's gonna be bruises later on, though.'_ He gritted his teeth and picked himself up, barely dodging a flustered strike from a debilitated henchman nearby, half-blinded from the burning smog. As the cartoon soldiers engaged the others, Jigoku took a moment to look around for his target-

And found Taneda coughing violently on the ground, looking around for his gun.

He wasted no more time and trying to ignore the dull throbbing on his wounded body, began hurriedly moving towards the man. However, the gangster seemed to have heard the approaching footsteps and when Jigoku was inches away, forced his bloody eyes open and glared at him as he grabbed his gun.

And all the horned boy saw after that was black, his vision stolen away.

' _Shit! . . . I was too slow . . .!'_

But as he fumbled around in a panic, hands moving to regain security, help dashed in.

"Hey, Mr. Baldy, this is for stealing my beautiful voice back then!"

Taneda didn't even have enough time to turn back before a powerful kick shattered at the base of his skull and pushed him to the ground, the impact knocking the gun out of his hands. As soon as Jigoku's vision returned, he was greeted with the sight of a goggled and masked Koji flashing him a victory sign and he didn't need to see behind the mask to know that the viridian-haired male had a huge grin on his face. As Taneda tried to lift his face up, Jigoku grabbed his head and turned it skywards-

Before slamming down two playing cards on each of his eyes.

"WHAT THE-?!" The man sputtered drool as he tried to pull them off but only cried out in pain as they remained firmly stuck. While Koji kicked away the gun from his reach, Jigoku stared down at him with an unaffected gaze.

"Keep trying and you might be able to pull them off," he mumbled, voice barely audible against the angry grunts and screams of Taneda as he tried to rip out the stubbornly stuck cards. "Although your eyelids will tear off as well, unfortunately."

The cartoon soldiers had been reduced to splatters of paint but they and the smoke had done their jobs – most of the mob had been left wounded on the ground, the smoke having blocked their sinuses and momentarily rendered their eyes useless. The ones who looked like they could put up a fight were knocked out by Koji with a distorted baseball bat Kenio had drawn for him.

Once the boys were out of the vicinity, Jigoku tore off his vest and pads and shook his curls to dry off his sweat. Kenio emerged out of the shadows and smiled at them. "I'm glad to see both of you are okay!" Relief flooded his voice as he rushed towards them. "Now, let's go-"

But suddenly, a dizzying spell hit the ginger and he lost his footing.

"Woah!" Koji caught him in time but as he tried to pull the boy up, his eyes narrowed. "Nakamura, you're burning up."

Indeed, as Jigoku inspected his face closely, he realised the freckled teen's face had flushed red while his bangs were plastered to his forehead and neck, soaked with sweat.

Putting on a brave smile, Kenio chuckled, "Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing. I'm just . . . a little exhausted from using ToonForce so much."

"I think you should rest for a bit," Jigoku suggested, warily looking around; some of the houses' windows were occupied with peering eyes. "Anyway, we _do_ need to plan our next steps."

The ginger looked hesitant but before he could reply, a whirring vibration cut him short. "What is that sound . . .?"

Koji began glancing around for its source, praying it wasn't new enemies. But as the sound drew closer, the boys realised it wasn't coming from anywhere around them. It actually was-

"Guys, look!" It was Koji who first noticed the helicopter, stark against the night sky, buzz through the air some distance away from them. They gaped after it before realising that it was headed in the direction of the large white building Kasai had warned them about.

And the three of them did not need to state out loud the terrible omens it sent to the pits of their stomach.

"I . . . have a terrible feeling about this."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:38 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

 _( Papa . . . she wanted her papa._

" _Please, I'll do anything! Anything at all!"_

 _Papa . . . where was papa? She was scared. She was scared of all these big men with their ugly tattoos and scary faces._

" _There's definitely been some sort of mistake! Danuja-san can't . . . he can't . . . !"_

 _Mamma was shaking and crying at the same time; pressed against her bosom, Hoshi could hear how hard her heart was beating._

" _Please . . . at least . . . let my daughter . . ."_

" _I'm afraid we can't do that, ma'am."_

 _Twelve-year old Hoshi doesn't even know what is happening; why all these big, scary men are here. All she remembers is that she'd been doing her homework all evening and her mother had screamed. A frightened, piercing scream that had pulled her out of her bedroom, running as fast as her skinny legs would take her._

 _She didn't know who the men that inhabited their drawing room were but they carried big, scary guns. And they'd turned their cold eyes upon her as soon as she'd walked in._

 _A chubby man, with thick fingers decked in shiny gold rings, snubbed out his cigarette on the embroidered sofa cover Rin had sewn with her own fingers. As she tried to hide Hoshi's face against her chest, the man softly said, "I realise it's a bother but then again, we'd warned your husband to stay off our turf. Of course, it's common knowledge in the underworld that Ashikaza harbour belongs to the Hakura Kido-Gumi. And yet," he puffed out a deep sigh, "We were kind enough to relay a warning to your husband and his mob in person."_

 _Hoshi could not understand what the round man's words, even though he spoke in simple Japanese._

" _N-No, you're mistaken!" Rin cried out. "Danuja-san would never . . . he would never . . .!"_

 _The man dropped his cigarette on the carpeted floor and crushed the butt underneath his expensive suede shoes. Exchanging a glance with one of his henchmen, he intoned, "I must applaud your acting, Fujita Rin-san." The woman turned pale at the accusation. "It's Oscar-worthy. Of course, if you actually do not know your own husband is a dreaded gangster-"_

 _He bent down to her face, lips inches away from her mamma. Hoshi could smell the strong stench of cigarettes waft over them._

" _-That's pitiful in its own way."_

 _Rin pulled her face away and clutching her child with trembling hands, began silently crying. The man straightened up and shoving his hands in his blazer pockets, walked towards the edge of the room. "Toudou, kill one of them as a warning." A buzz-cut blond nodded and cocked his gun in preparation as Rin screamed, scrambling to her feet. "We'll leave the corpse as a gift for Graviton."_

" _Which one?" Rin tried to run away with her motionless daughter in her arms but froze when she found all the twenty guns in the room aimed at her._

" _Hmmmm . . ." The man brought out a coin and tossed it in the air; once it landed on the back of his palm, he checked the result with a thoughtful nod. "I got tails so it's the brat."_

" _NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

 _Hoshi wordlessly reached out for her mother as big, rough hands tore her away from Rin's grasp._

" _Papa-"_

' _Save me.'_

 _The door flew off its hinges and slammed into the man grasping her, plastering him to the floor. She is dropped to the ground and pain shoots up her elbows and knees. Her mamma is screaming as she reaches out for her but in that moment, all she can do is stare at the doorway._

 _Papa is angry. A teenage boy with dark hair and a fish-eyed man stand behind him. She doesn't like how cold their eyes look._

 _But Papa's eyes are the worst. )_

"Hoshi."

The fifteen-year old refused to look up and kept her head lowered between her bent knees. Danuja sat at the edge of the wizened mattress and reached out to touch her but she moved back, pushing her fingernails deep in her skin to stop shivering.

Ren, standing in the corner of the room, moved to strike at the girl-

"Ren."

But was stopped short by the stern look in the blue-haired man's eyes. Cold, sulphuric eyes.

"Leave us alone for some time."

A heartbroken look settled on the dark-haired male's face. "But Boss-!"

" **NOW, REN**."

Soft words that were bent with the weight of heaving anger.

Without another word, Ren noiselessly turned back and walked out, shutting the door tight behind him.

The silence that settled afterward in the room was heavy and dark, layered with the weight of a hundred unasked and unanswered questions.

"I've missed you, Hoshi. Papa has missed you terribly."

She was such a bad girl. She was pathetic. She was so pathetic she could not protest when he gently pulled her into his warm embrace.

Even though this man was a murderer, even though this man was someone who hurt people, even though this man had betrayed her and mamma-

Why was she crying like a baby, all bundled in his arms?

"Why?" Her voice was wracked with hiccups and her small hands clenched firmly at the front of his shirt. "Why did you do this, papa?" Hot tears poured out in unrestrained torrents, falling down her cheeks and drenching the front of Danuja's shirt. "Why . . . how could you betray me and mamma?! How could you . . . ki . . . kill people?!"

He remained silent, his arms only firmly wrapped around his daughter.

Anger surged through Hoshi at the guilty silence and she violently tore away from his embrace, amber eyes wet and glowing with rage. "You . . . you betrayed me and mamma! How could you . . . lie to us . . ." And just when she thought she'd had enough of the tears, they burst out again.

Danuja's eyes were soft as he took in the form of the limp girl; at her small form become wracked with pitiful sobs. So weak, so fragile, so little . . .

"Hoshi." She made no reply even when he got up from the bed and made his way to the door. "We'll be leaving soon."

But those words immediately shut her up, leaving her wordlessly staring.

"A helicopter is here for us, with a good doctor who's excellent at memory erasure. As soon as I take care of some things, we're gonna leave this place forever. The doctor will replace all your old memories with new ones and we will begin a fresh life somewhere. You, me and Ren . . . a new family, the three of us."

He turned back and easily deflected a side table Hoshi hurled at him. She gritted her teeth in frustration as it crashed onto the ground and split into several wooden fragments.

"You've become stronger, Hoshi," Graviton softly stated, shutting the door behind him. Ren stood outside in the corridors, a wide grin on his face. "But in the end, your power is only a much weaker copy of mine."

"PAPA! LET ME OUT!"

The duo walked away from the banging door, deaf to the trapped girl's cries.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS! **LET ME OUT**!"

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:49 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

"That helicopter is bad news."

The trio of Yasu, Reiko and Haruka slinked through the darkest corners of the construction field, moving hurriedly between the shadows cast by tall piles of rubble and strewn clusters of metal beams, as they made their way towards the white building Kasai had informed them about. The dirty blond felt the mysterious key in his pocket get heavier with each footstep – and he was so lost in thought that Haruka had to grab his arm to stop him from running forward and smashing straight into one of the mobsters.

"Yes, Boss, we seem to have lost communication with all three pursuit teams. . . . Are you sure? . . . Yes, sorry sir, of course, of course . . . We are rushing over . . ."

The men's voices faded as they rushed past the frozen teenagers and out of sight, running towards the large building with urgent strides. Haruka had Yasu pinned behind a metal crate and Reiko peered out from behind the backs of both the tall boys, her heart in her mouth at the near close call.

"Don't be so careless, Hanransha," the dark-haired boy warned.

Yasu mumbled an apology but his mind was more focused on the titbit of conversation they'd just heard. "If what they said is correct . . . that means the others are okay," he sighed in relief.

"Yosh!" Reiko pumped a fist in happiness. "I knew they wou-!"

But Haruka clamped a cold, metallic hand over her mouth before she could complete her sentence and she was left incoherently babbling.

"Someone's here," the boy muttered and the two blondes' eyes widened in fright.

There was the sound of rushing footsteps and a swift, dark figure was suddenly charging towards the trio from the opposite direction, attacking them from an unnoticed corner of the construction site. The overarching darkness provided low visibility but nevertheless, Haruka was quick in his movements and threw a harsh punch at the assailant. His metal fist clanged as it came into contact with something hard and Yasu was about to remove his balaclava before-

"Itou . . .? And Hanransha . . . and Shimamura too."

Reiko's eyes widened with glee. "Tetsuya!" she yelled, grinning. "You're okay!"

Inori and Haruka stared at each other for a few seconds before pulling away from each other, the former's right claw regressing into a normal hand. "Glad to see both of you are alright," she monotonously nodded at the blonde duo before shifting her eyes to the additional figure. "Did not expect to meet you here, Itou."

"Neither did I," came the equally cool reply.

Now that another of their class' strongest students were here, Yasu felt even more relieved. "Where is Hitori-san?" he asked, remembering the boy had been with the raven-haired girl when they'd all separated. "Wasn't he with you?"

Inori blinked at him for some time before turning her head to the direction behind her. As the other three followed her gaze, they noticed a barely outlined figure in the distance, hiding behind a metal pole and hesitantly waving at them. "Actually, his respirator broke in a fight," she explained at their questioning stares, "and since his Death Breath is now unfiltered, it's dangerous for others." They nodded in understanding but the respite was short-lived.

"Aren't they those fucking brats?!"

"Hell yeah! Catch them!"

"Looks like chatting time's over," Yasu mumbled, peeling his balaclava away from his lower face as all four of them faced the incoming horde of half a dozen mobsters. Inori and Reiko were gone in a flash and both slammed into the men before they could shoot their guns; Haruka was quick to follow behind them and took care of the men the girls had missed. A gangster with the head of a Lynx tried to bite Inori's arm but Reiko slammed a powerful knee right under his ribcage, causing him to cough out phlegm. He was soon after grabbed by a giant, sharp-nailed claw and thrown with great force into one of his teammates, both of them toppling to the ground.

"You annoying twats!" A man pulled out his gun but before he could even properly aim, a dark, rancid-smelling liquid showered on both of his hands from a distance. He howled in pain as it ate away at his skin and burned through his flesh and tendons, dropping his slightly corroded gun on the ground. Crying and cussing, he turned around to look at the perpetrator but another spurt burned through his shoes and ate through the raw flesh of his feet, forcing him to kneel on the ground.

Eyes blurry with tears, a tall shadow fell over him – and looking up, he was face-to-face with a dark-skinned, shaggy-haired teen staring down at him with unreadable eyes.

"You're fucked you ugly Bandersnatch," he gritted, trying his best to ignore the excruciating pain. Bits and pieces of his flesh were tumbling to the ground, skin cracked in large flakes as naked muscles spasmed underneath. "Once I get up, you're fucked."

The boy continued staring at him before his lips parted in a tight grin, exposing jagged and sharp rows of teeth underneath.

"Don't bother getting up," Yasu hummed, cracking his knuckles. "You'll anyway be back on the floor in a few seconds."

In less than four minutes, all six men had been knocked out.

"You're ruthless, Itou," Inori commented as her wings folded into her back. A little away, Yasu discharged his Bad Blood on the collected guns and ammunition, melting them down as Reiko stared on in amazed horror.

Haruka snapped his neck from one side to the other. "As far as I remember, you weren't any easier on them," he replied, remembering when she had grabbed one of them by the waist, flipped them upside down and slammed them against the ground on their back. That man would probably never be able to straighten his back ever again. "But for mobsters, these goons were rather weak."

"That's because they're only the small fry," Kasai said, walking over to them – he had donned a dark grey balaclava Yasu had offered him, an extra the latter always carried. Although it wouldn't completely filter Death Breath, it would still suppress it to some degree. "There're much more powerful members in this gang." Images of the fish-eyed Saji and his grim-faced companion flashed through his mind. "And I'm certain that all of them are in the white building."

At the statement, all their eyes turned towards the sprawling structure, which was now only a few hundred metres away.

"Yes," Inori mumbled almost inaudibly, "Professional Villains . . . they're on a completely different level."

"So do we enter the building or no?" Reiko asked, tightening her pony tail. "I really don't like the news of that helicopter but going in . . . it would be-"

"You all are dead either way."

"We really can't catch a break, huh?" Kasai sighed in exasperation as the six high schoolers clustered together in the direction of the raspy voice, all of them ready for battle. They waited for sounds of yelling and the clicking of gun barrels but there was nothing. Only the taps slow, relaxed footsteps that made their way towards them in the cloak of the dark night sky.

But when the grey clouds moved away from the moon, the illumination of the obscured figure sent an involuntary shudder down everyone's spines.

"He-ey," Reiko's voice broke in the middle, "This guy . . . he looks kinda scary, isn't he?"

"My skin is covered in goosebumps," Yasu honestly replied, not taking his eyes away from the leisurely walking figure.

He only seemed to be a tall, lean youth in his early twenties – pale-skinned with thick, dark hair covering one side of his face and an ill-fitted black hoodie loose on his frame. But despite his frail appearance, something about him screamed at them to stay away. An aura of hatred, bloodlust and madness seemed to spring from his very core and bristled at the teens' survival instincts.

And Inori recognised that aura very well.

"This," she hissed, her pupils dilating into narrow slivers, "Is definitely a professional."

At her words, a cold wave washed over all of them and it only turned icier when the male stopped a hundred metres away from them. Now that his visible eye was in full exposure, nobody could ignore the intense loathing that swam underneath its surface.

"You're Hoshi-chan's friends, right?" he smiled – a mocking, revolt-filled twisting of the lips. "Nice to meet you all."

"I am Ren, her new brother and on behalf of our father, I'm here to give you all a proper welcome."

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **I cannot tell you guys how sorry I am for being MIA for two months. Some things happened during early April and I wasn't in a very good place for a long time – plus, I was hospitalised for the better part of a month and had my college semesters soon after. I didn't even have time to use my phone much. And I'm so sorry for disappointing you guys for this long – I know most of you had given up on this story and I didn't even have the courage to come back and update. But then I checked my PMs, my Youtube, my Pinterest and I remembered and realised just how much love and support I've received from you all. And I felt horrible for even thinking about giving up on it. I wanna complete this fic no matter what because I, and all of you, have worked very hard for it.**

 **So now that I'm back, and have a month long summer vacation ahead, I'm gonna write all those two months off.**


	21. Ch 20 - Fighting For What's Important

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 20 – Fighting For What's Important**

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:53 p.m. – Yuki Household)**

"-and the police have confirmed footage of what seem to be recent escapee Graviton's aides outside the mall. Identities of the Beast a.k.a Kataya Ren and Slender Man a.k.a Kirisaki Banri have been confirmed and the former is suspected to be the perpetrator of the assault on U.A. student Asagumo Suzuran. Further enquiries are underway but the Hero Association have refused to comme-"

"No . . . it couldn't be."

Aisen couldn't believe what he was seeing but it was the same mall all of them had decided to hang out at today. Helena, sitting next to him on the couch, grabbed his hand and squeezed it, weakening at the pained look in his eyes.

"It couldn't . . .," the blond bit down on his lip, trying to hold back tears. "Hoshi . . . Suzuran, they're . . ."

But Aisen's voice cracked at the end.

"I'm sure they're fine," she whispered against his cheek, patting his back. "You've got strong friends. They'll be okay."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:54 p.m. – Madou Household)**

"Mashiro! Mashiro!"

"Coming, daddy!" The snow-haired boy was inside his father's study, carefully stacking the files of his patients that were supposed to be put away for storage in the archives. As he balanced the heavy pile in his arms and slowly ambled towards their living room, he peeked from the top of the stack to see his father gaping at the television screen.

"What's got you so worked up, daddy?" he asked, poking his father's paunch.

But instead of chuckling like he usually did, Dr. Madou Yoshihisa sombrely fixed his spectacles as he looked at his son. "Mashiro . . ."

The boy's smile slowly disappeared when he caught the words of the news anchor on television.

"-mall's attack has left several questions as to the safety of the citizens and the mall's security measures. But the most pressing issue seems to be the attack on UA student Asagumo Suzuran and the abduction of her classmate and friend Fujita Hoshi, who was last seen getting into-"

The files dropped noisily to the floor.

"Hoshi . . . chi . . ."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:55 p.m. – Enoshima Household)**

"-were seen getting into a black Sedan with UA first year Fujita Hoshi. Both the police and the Heroes on the case refuse to comment on the exact specifics of this kidnapping and assault incident but we at Mustaf news are striving to-"

"Kazumi," a middle-aged woman with a pleasant face and kind voice spoke over the sound of running water as she washed dishes in the kitchen sink, "Aren't those your friends?"

Kazumi, who had been in the process of clearing the dining table, made no reply to her mother's question. She continued to stare at Hoshi's photo on the television screen, her lips set in a straight line. Her eyes had an unreadable look in them.

' _. . . I hope this time you weren't merely being nosy, Fujita.'_

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:56 p.m. – Jobu Household)**

"Dammit! DAMMIT!"

As a ringing thud echoed through their small apartment, Denwa turned away her worried gaze from the TV to her brother, who sat clutching his knees so hard she was afraid he would break his kneecaps. "Hitting the table isn't going to help, Jonetsu," she supplied in a soft voice.

"If only . . . if only I'd been there!" The boy cried, clutching at his hair in frustration and sadness. "Fujita, she . . . Nee-chan!" Denwa was a little startled at his sudden outburst but as he stared straight at her, she realised how harrowed his eyes looked. "Please, PLEASE request Real Steel to help her! I know he can save her! Ask him once! PLEASE!"

The young woman stared back hesitantly before pulling in a deep breath, and stating, "Jonetsu, I'm sure they've already put capable Heroes on the case." A heartbroken look settled over his face. "But I will still ask Tetsutetsu-san once if there's been any progress on it." Jobu grinned at her and she smiled back before getting up to fetch her cell phone.

Hands folded, the teenager closed his eyes and prayed. _'Fujita . . . everyone . . . please be okay.'_

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:57 p.m. – Kanashimi Household)**

In the empty apartment, dim lights were switched on in the living room; a minimally furnished room that was almost devoid of signs of life. Fuma sat on the couch in the middle of the room, elbows propped on the centre table and fingers crossed in front of his mouth. Although he was not one for television, he always made sure to check the news before going to school and retiring to bed.

But he definitely had not been expecting to see his own classmates on television.

' _This . . . is gonna be troublesome. I can feel it.'_

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:58 p.m. – Kenshi Household)**

"Nii-san, please, take me with you!"

"Don't be stupid, Ryo," Kenshi Hanzo a.k.a Terrafirma glared at his younger brother before turning his attention back to lacing his boots. "My agency said this is a serious case – one that hinges on life and death – and taking you with me is unthinkable."

The emerald-hair boy growled, trying to suppress his anger. "But they're _my_ -!"

"Don't argue, Ryo." His face was forcibly turned to the ground as his father roughly tousled his hair, forcing the boy to bite down on his tongue in order to prevent cussing out loud. Noticing his son's shaking fists, Kenshi Yamada stated in a calm but firm tone, "Cool your head, kid, and focus on school. Once you get your Hero Licence, you can take part in all the missions you want but you're still only a student, young punk."

With a darkened face, the boy pushed his father's hand away, swerved around and ran up the stairs to his room, loudly slamming the door behind him. Used at his antics, his parents and brother only shook their heads.

"Be careful out there, Hanzo," Kenshi Luka hugged her son as Pro Hero Terrafirma departed on the urgent mission.

"I will be, mom," the raven-head smiled confidently at her before nodding at his dad. Staring up at his younger brother's room, he asserted, "For Ryo's sake, too, I promise we'll save his friends."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 7:59 p.m. – Nishiya Household)**

Screaming into the pillow hadn't helped at all.

So Asuna grabbed hold of her pink flower vase and hurled it at the opposite wall, motionless on her bed as it splintered into hundreds of pieces and blue hydrangeas they held dropped to the floor, the petals drenching into the spilt water.

And within a few minutes, there was rapid knocking on the door. "Asuna! Oi Asuna!" The brunette pressed the pillow over her head, trying to block her ears. "Open the door, Asuna! Talk to me! ASUNA!"

"GO AWAY, MOM!" she screamed, sitting up on her bed. She refused to show her tears to anyone. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Oi, you don't get away talking to your mother like that!" However, Nishiya Yu was not one to be discouraged and continued knocking. "You need to talk to me, Asuna! Your dad's worried too!"

"It's my fault . . .," she mumbled, toppling on her bed and folding an arm over her eyes. But the tears continued to pour, sliding down her cheeks and staining onto the bed sheets.

"Asuna! OI, ASUNA!" Her mother's knocking did not stop.

"It's my fault . . . that I wasn't there to protect them . . .,"

Asuna cried, coiling into a foetal position.

"It's all . . . my fault . . ."

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 8:01 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

 _( When the little boy cracks his eyes open, he is face-to-face with the protective warmth that surrounds him._

 _It is an adult man – one with curls the shade of a brilliant cerulean sky and eyes of golden amber that shine with kindness. The boy's ears are still ringing from the brutal pain that had ripped through his body and his stomach feels like it has been carved empty. His throat is parched paper dry and all he wants, at that moment, is for eternal sleep to take over him._

 _But when the man gives him a small smile, all the boy can think of is God has finally decided to rescue him._

 _And he knows, in that moment, that he – his heart, his soul, his whole being – will always belong to this God. )_

Ren recognises them all. The tall boy with messy sand-coloured hair, the ponytail girl who stares at him with both fear and anger, the blue-haired boy with raging eyes, the dark-haired girl who is the daughter of some hotshot Pro and the newest arrival, the metal-limbed boy who stares back at him with challenging eyes.

It is impossible for him to not recognise them when all he'd been doing for the past two weeks was follow Hoshi around – sometimes as a crow, sometimes as a dog, sometimes as a butterfly. These brats were her friends and classmates, kids with a memorable past and a bright future . . .

Ignorant twats that knew neither suffering nor hardship.

They pissed him off. He wanted to kill them. _**Rip them apart, gut them, strangle them, crush their hearts, tear them from limb to limb, rape their corpses over and over-**_

 _ **Brats. Twats. Pests. Fools. Insects. Faeces. Those who know no suffering.**_

 _ **They need to die.**_

"You need to leave," Inori whispered urgently as the young man in front of them spasmed on all fours, his body undergoing a strange transformation. They watched with horror as his scrawny frame expanded into a mass of sudden muscles, tearing through his loose clothes. His hands elongated into black claws, replete with painfully sharp nails and the same happened to his feet as they ripped through his sneakers. Reiko uttered a small yelp when she saw Ren's face elongate into a snout and black fur began sprouting all over his body.

"LEAVE, NOW." Inori clenched her teeth, ebony wings sprouting out of her back as she flexed her claws, covered in hardened scales.

Most of them looked hesitant. "But you're wounded, Tetsuya-san-"

"YOU'LL ONLY GET IN THE WAY," she harshly cut Kasai off and the boy flinched at the terrifying look in her eyes.

"She's right," Yasu stated and Kasai and Reiko turned to look at him with hesitant glances while Haruka remained silent. "We don't have any time to waste. If the helicopter is what I think it is, we may never see Fujita-san again. And . . . I'm not sure how useful our Quirks would be in direct combat against . . . him . . ." The boy glanced with fearful eyes at their growling opponent.

Kasai clenched his teeth, infuriated at himself. _'If only . . . If only I had my gauntlets!'_

Ren, now fully metamorphosed, threw back his head and howled.

"GO! NOW!"

Yasu, Reiko and Kasai dashed off towards the building and the huge black wolf lunged after them, breathlessly fast in its strides as it cut through the night breeze. Reiko screamed and lugged the two boys as she raced ahead with her Ankle Wheels – however, before Ren could grab hold of her, Inori slammed into him full force and both of them tumbled to the ground.

Haruka, with a withering glance at the raven-head, ran towards the building but took a different turn from the other three and headed off into the opposite direction.

"Tetsuya, you'd better not lose!" Reiko yelled over her shoulder as the trio entered the whitewashed structure, slamming the door behind them. Inori, her head dizzy from the impact, had no time to reply as she was focused on jumping away from the violent swipe made at her face. But one of Ren's nails managed to scratch the bridge of her nose.

As she wiped away at the thin trail of blood, a flinch shuddered through her body when she accidentally rubbed her singed arm against it.

"You know, father actually hasn't told me anything." His voice was a barely comprehensible, guttural growl as black lips moved to reveal rows of pointed, gleaming canines. "I'm definitely gonna get in trouble for engaging all of you on my own accord-"

" **But as long as I can destroy even one of Hoshi's friends, I don't care."**

His movements were fast and fluid and Inori had no leisure to speak, all of her concentration being focused on blocking against his animalistic fighting style. Howling, he rushed towards her and lunged but she dodged and flew upwards, deciding to keep him occupied from a distance.

' _All I have to do is prevent him from going after the others.'_ She stopped once she was well up but looking down at the ground, couldn't find him anywhere. _'Where did he-?'_

An eagle screeched from behind her and Inori hissed in pain as talons dug into her wings, trying to tear out the feathers. But she hardened them before he could cause more damage and tried to crush him between them. However, he managed to slip away and flew back to a distance, glowering at her.

' _So he can turn into more than one animal? This is going to be troublesome.'_ Every flutter of her wings caused a sharp throb to shoot through her but Inori wasn't sure how effectively she'd be able to fight him on the ground.

"Why must you come between Boss and his family?" Although it was shriller, it was definitely Ren speaking, hovering from one side of her to the other. "He didn't do _anything_ this time. Why must you interfere between **him and his daughter**?!"

The black eagle swooped at her with another cry and she brought her claws up and swung at him, moving them in a consecutive cross. Ren was quick enough to dodge them but he did not expect her to move in and grab hold of him in a bear hug. Confused, he tried to raise his talons to cut at her but she grabbed hold of them with her claws and refused to let go even when they dug into her scales, drawing dark blood.

Ren screeched in pain as she began crushing him in her hold, pecking at her shoulder as hard as he could. But even though Inori hissed in pain and cussed out loud, she refused to let go of him, ignoring her bleeding.

However, before he could begin another transformation, her arms unwrapped from him as she began falling to the ground.

Or, rather, was roughly pulled.

"What the-?!" Inori could barely understand what was happening although she was aware of something wrapped around her ankle. The velocity was making her lose her balance but, with great effort, she managed to regain her sense of equilibrium. Flapping her wings as hard as possible, she managed to escape that grip.

' _Who WAS that?!'_

Flying as far away as she could, she watched Ren land on the ground and transform back into his naked human form. And, as she'd expected, there was another man standing next to him.

A tall, middle-aged man in a black suit, who refused to take her eyes away from her even as he handed Ren a set of clothes.

Keeping a close eye on the distant teenager, Kirisaki sighed in exasperation at the troubling behaviour of the young generation. "Boss is fuming, you know?" he spoke over the rustling of clothes as his young companion dressed himself. "You exited the building and engaged in combat without permission. And also, allowed intruders to infiltrate the building."

Ren was quite for a long time but as he pulled a black T-shirt over his head, quietly growled, "You didn't need to interfere. I would've taught the brat a lesson she would never forget."

Kirisaki glanced at him for the briefest of seconds before quickly turning his attention back to Tetsuya Inori, who was hovering from one side to the other but not daring to move closer. "It certainly wasn't your call to do so but fortunately, we don't have time to waste on stupid mistakes right now. Boss wants you beside him **immediately**." At those words, Ren perked up at once and dashed towards the building.

' _Now's my chance!'_ Seeing an opening, Inori dived straight down.

However, when she tried to pursue him, Kirisaki elongated his armed hand and shot at her, missing by only a few centimetres as she swiftly manoeuvred to the side. But even from the distance, he could sense the angry scowl on her face as Ren entered the building and she was forced to keep away.

"Why don't you call it quits, Tetsuya Inori-san?" Kirisaki calmly announced as he approached her vicinity, staring straight into her eyes as he reloaded his gun. "I can see you've received some troublesome wounds but with your wings, you should be able to escape this place safe and sound. Wouldn't it be smarter for you to use your flying powers and go get help from Pros?"

' _Does he consider me an imbecile?'_ Moving to and fro was beginning to exhaust her but with him being armed, hovering in a single place would be target practice. And there was not a single structure she could take cover behind.

Even without looking back, the presence of the mysterious helicopter on the building's rooftop was ominous. _' They plan to escape from here as soon as they can. And if I leave now-'_

Without warning, he fired two more shots and one of them whizzed by very close to her ear, ringing through her eardrums.

"You are all acting like fools . . . something I didn't expect of UA students." Kirisaki shook his head disappointedly, scratching his head with the barrel of his pistol. "It's nice to see Hoshi-chan has made such good friends but you have no right to tear her away from her father."

It took a lot of willpower to not swoop down upon him and rip his head off his shoulders.

' _ **You coward.**_ ' The familiar voice, whispering inside her head again and again. _**'Afraid of some bullets and a henchman with a mediocre Quirk? COWARD COWARD COWARD COWARD COWARD-'**_

"SHUT THE FUCK UP," Inori hissed through clenched teeth, wildly shaking her head. Kirisaki raised an eyebrow at her actions.

"If not for the fact that you were such stupid, interfering little brats, you'd have wonderful futures ahead with all the good Quirks you've been blessed with." The man muttered, sighing in exasperation. And then, as quick as lightning, his right arm elongated and shot out.

Inori quickly moved back before she realised that he hadn't made a grab for her.

But when she saw who it _was_ he'd caught, she wished it would've been her.

"LET ME GO, YOU BASTARD!" Kenio's screams and kicks were to no avail as Kirisaki's arm wrapped tightly around his torso, coiling around him so stiffly that he could hardly move. The ginger tried to weasel out of his grip as he was pulled away from his hiding spot behind a metal crate but the man only tightened his hold, causing the young teen to feel dizzy from the constriction.

' _No . . .'_

"Kenio . . ." Inori mumbled, dumbfounded, but the appearance of two more figures filled her with even more terror.

"Sorry, Tetsuya-san," Jigoku's lips quivered an apology as he was roughly pulled forward by a duo of black-suited men, his arms bound tightly together with duct tape. Koji was thrown over the shoulder of a tall, muscular hunk and was struggling to speak against the duct tape tightened over his mouth, both his hands and feet bound.

Kirisaki shifted his gaze to the silent girl, a mocking look on his face. "Will you please descend now, Tetsuya-san?"

She made no reply, only silently staring with wide eyes at the incapacitated boys.

"Or do you require some more encouragement?" He tightened his hold around Kenio and it was all the ginger could do to not cry out in pain. Inori bared her teeth and snarled in fury.

But even though he was barely keeping himself conscious, Kenio weakly cried, "Inori-san, please . . . run away . . ."

She opened her mouth but no words came out.

' _No . . .'_

' _ **Attack.'**_

' _NO . . .'_

' _ **ATTACK**_.'

Koji now hung limp over the mobster's shoulder while Jigoku stared at her pleadingly, his usual composure completely overtaken by panic.

' _ **ATTACK!'**_

' _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'**_

But before she could crack, a green blur burst into the scene and slammed a fist under Kirisaki's ribcage.

"DETROIT . . . **SMAAAAAAASSSHHH**!"

* * *

 **Villain Name: Graviton/Danuja Fujita**

 **Quirk: Absolute Gravity**

 **Absolute Gravity allows Graviton to control the gravity of any object, living or non-living, in his vicinity and manipulate it in any way he wants. His Quirk is known to work at least 1,000 metres around his circumference and he is known to be able to control objects from 500-600 lbs.**

 **P.S: Graviton is the first prisoner to have been jailed in Tartarus' new experimental cell block.**

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 8:07 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

When the door to her room was keyed open, she was ready.

Two armed men in black suits entered and one of them drawled, "Now, little miss, please accompany us without any-"

But they didn't expect an old wooden bed to be waiting right on the other side.

They had little time to react as it pushed right into them with great force, compelling them to back away. Seizing her chance, Hoshi jumped up from her hiding place behind the bed and ran outside into the corridors, not daring to turn back.

"HOLD IT, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" One of the men screamed after her and she heard them trying to push the bed away, which was losing its force due to her increasing distance from it. But with a final burst of power, the bed caught on fire from her applied pressure and the men screamed as the flames lapped at them.

She turned the right corner and found herself at the end of another long, dimly lit corridor and without stopping for a breath, ran as fast as her thin legs could, ignoring yells and shouts that were approaching from behind. Two men came rushing from another branched corridor in front of her and pointed their guns at Hoshi. "Stop right there, Hoshi-san!" the younger one yelled as they rushed straight at her.

But even though fear filled every crevice in her body, Hoshi knew she couldn't listen to them. She would _not_ listen to them.

"Get out of my way!" she cried and once they were close enough, she exerted her Gravity Field; as her blue curls rose above her head in tendrils, the men's guns were pulled away from their grips and clattered to the floor.

"Oh no, you don't!" The younger man, however, managed to quickly grab hold of her, wrapping his arms around her waist. The girl squirmed and tried to hit his face but he was much stronger and in no time, had her arms pinned.

"Let me go!" Hoshi yelled, her eyes flaring into translucent amber as the strobe lights above her head began shaking. "I will not have my memory wiped!"

"Please, stay still!" he cried, wincing as she kicked his knee. "We don't want to hurt you!"

But despite her struggles, she was no match for her opponent in terms of physical strength. "I won't forget mamma and my friends!"

"Keep her down, Kuronuma!" the older man stated, forcing the girl to the floor. The strobe lights in the area were beginning to violently shake.

From both ends of the corridor, the sound of arriving reinforcements could be heard. Hoshi tried to raise her head, shouting, "I won't forget them! I won't! I WON'T!"

Each and every precious memory flashed through her mind. Suzuran's bashful smile the day Hoshi had called her 'friend', Asuna's proud smirk whenever Hoshi answered correctly in class, the fun conversations she shared with Kazumi, Koji's hilarious jokes that always cheered everyone up, passing the entrance exams with Kasai, the excitement in the crowd whenever Deku-sensei took a class, the fun classes they all shared together . . .

 _( 'Mamma will always be here with you, Hoshi.' )_

' _I don't want to forget!'_ Even if her hands were painfully restrained and she was pressed against the ground, she wouldn't stop struggling. _'I won't forget, I won't forget . . . I WON'T FORGET ANY OF MY PRECIOUS MEMORIES!'_

But amidst her struggles, Hoshi had failed to notice a poisonously sweet smell fill the atmosphere.

"Oi, what's this stench?" One of the mobsters asked his companion, sniffing the air.

"Am I the only one who can see some sort of pink mist floating 'round here?" another commented, warily drawing his gun as the smog around them thickened. But in their growing panic and hurriedness, they did not notice the yellow blur speeding towards the group until it was too close.

"GYRATING KICK!"

Hoshi's eyes flew open at the familiar, high-pitched voice and she was set free when the man who had restrained her was pushed away, rolling forward until he slammed into the wall. The freckled girl only had a brief glance of Reiko grinning down at her before the blonde hoisted her up on her back and raced away from the men before they could even ready their guns.

"SHI-MA-MAMURA-CHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!"

Hoshi's lips and eyelids were almost blown away at the fierce speed as they zoomed towards the end of the corridor. Kasai and Yasu, who were waiting at the intersection, caught hold of the dizzy girl as Reiko gently set her down. While Hoshi leaned against Yasu's tall frame to stabilise herself, Kasai focused on exhaling enough Death Breath to fill the corridors with a deadly smog that would knock everyone out from violent coughing fits.

Her head swimming with vertigo from the intense velocity of the ride, Yasu's warm pats to her back were much welcome. "You did well, Fujita-san," he kindly said, soothing her frayed emotions. "We're all here to save you."

And tears spilled out as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Why . . ." Hoshi's voice cracked, unable to remain stable.

Her small hands gripped at the front of his shirt as she hid her face towards the ground, teardrops splattering to the floor. "Why . . . for me . . . someone like me . . ."

Kasai grabbed the blue-haired girl's arm and stated in a firm but gentle voice, "I know there's a lot of things we need to discuss, Fujita-san, but we need to get out of here first." Hoshi could barely look at him through her tears but she gritted her teeth and fiercely nodded, wiping at her eyes.

Smiling sadly, Reiko tried to add some pep to the group. "But now that you're safe, Fujita, we'll all be having a big celebration once we get out of here!" Hoshi tried to smile back at her, in spite of the physical and emotional instability she was going through.

The four teenagers rushed through the corridors as fast as they could, with Reiko leading the way and Kasai acting as rearguard, ears alert for any noise that may hint at an upcoming confrontation.

The trio had been lucky in finding their way to Hoshi – the white building had seemed much smaller on the inside when they'd entered but after sneaking around and some near encounters, Yasu had noticed an odd-looking metallic door situated in a dark blind-spot at the end of a wide hallway. And, as he'd suspected, the mysterious key in his pocket was successful in opening the locked door, revealing a long network of narrow and intertwined corridors that made up the majority of the interior space of the white building. The place where Hoshi had been held captive.

' _We still don't know who exactly gave us the key,_ ' the blond's thoughts ran as they manoeuvred through the twining corridors, each of them turning up deserted. _'But why did they help us? Can they be considered our allies . . . or do they have other motives?'_

However, their luck ran out because as they turned the intersection leading to the secret doorway, they came face-to-face with two familiar figures.

"I've gotta say it. You UA kids are really summin'."

Reiko and Yasu protectively stepped in front of Hoshi, eyes narrowed in angry glares while Kasai cracked his fingers, knuckles itching to beat up the fish-eyed man standing in front of him. Saji and Koiwai, along with a backup of half-a-dozen armed men, had been clearly waiting at the entrance.

' _So that's why there was no one during all our running over here,'_ Yasu swallowed, wondering if there was any way to sneak past them. But chances looked very bleak.

"But I guess everyone's luck runs out, huh?" Saji mumbled, scratching the back of his head as his eyes roved over the quartet. "Although, in this case, it was inevitable. A dozen high schoolers, no matter how skilled they are, can never take on a mob of professional gangsters. It's common sense, don't you guys think so?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too fucking much, you salmon-faced breadstick?!" Kasai snapped, his balaclava being unable to repress the enraged loathing in his voice. Yasu, Reiko and even the air-headed Hoshi stared at him in surprise, unable to recognise the reserved, quiet boy they were used to behind the heated aura he was currently giving off.

But what was even more surprising was the fact that the angry-faced Koiwai burst out into a fit of chuckles, hearty, deep laughter escaping from the pit of his chest. Saji, eyes brutally cold, glowered at his companion. "It ain't funny, Koiwai."

Instead of being threatened, however, Koiwai looked impressed. "I'll ask Boss if I can keep this kid as a pet." He eyed Kasai with blatant interest and the sapphire-haired boy moved back in horrified disgust. "After I beat a lot of sense into him, of course."

Indifferent, Saji shrugged his shoulders. "Do whatever you want. These brats don't matter to me, dead or alive." But after a pause, he mumbled, "Although we should kill one of them as punishment for all the trouble they've put us through."

As several guns were pulled out and aimed at the numb children, Hoshi moved forward, protectively spreading her arms to shield her friends as she. "NO, DON'T!"

However, the bullets never got a chance to be fired.

"Earphone Jack, go!"

Tentacole moved into the frame of the kids' vision as, with his several arms, he snatched away the guns of all six gangsters with overpowering force. Saji cursed under his breath and jumped up to hover away while Koiwai reached for the gun put away in his belt but both were two slow.

"HEARTBEAT PIERCE!" Kyouka grabbed hold of both men and penetrated her ear plugs through their skins. Saji and Koiwai froze as a loud reverberation rung violently through their insides and they collapsed to the ground, the world around them shaking. Their ears, eyes and all of their other senses seemed to have been thrown into disarray; even their limbs felt heavy and numb and their attempts to get up were futile.

"Saji-san!" one man tried to attack the female Pro from the back but a powerful arm grabbed the collar of his shirt and threw him down the corridor with such force that he crashed into the opposite wall.

The four students could only watch with awed gapes as the two Pro Heroes managed to incapacitate their opponents within a matter of minutes and very soon, the mobsters were lying motionlessly on the floor. The happy grins on their faces were wiped away when Kyouka turned stern eyes upon them. "So whose idea was this 'grand rescue plan'?"

Hoshi turned to the floor in guilt while Reiko nervously gulped and stared at Earphone Jack's shoes, the boys turning their heads to the sides.

As Tentacole broke the last their guns with his Dupli Arms, he sighed in relief. "But I'm really glad that we could reach you all in the nick of time." His eyes were kind and the teens let themselves smile a little again. "I hope none of you are seriously injured?"

The words, however, made Kasai remember that their other classmates were still in danger. "Tetsuya-san-I mean, one of our classmates has some serious injuries! She's fighting out front! And we-we still haven't met three of our other classma-!"

But instead of looking tensed, Earphone Jack and Tentacole had smiles of assurance on their faces. "If you're talking about Tetsuya Inori, Nakamura Kenio, Tejina Jigoku and Aizawa Koji, then rest easy." The quartet stared at her with confusion. "Because Deku has already rescued them."

And the four high schoolers flashed the broadest grins they could muster . . . before Yasu's eyes widened in realisation.

"Itou-san . . .," he mumbled, turning to the two Pros. "Excuse me but was there an Itou Haruka with them?! A tall boy with metal limbs and spiky, navy blue hair?!" Kyouka and Shoji exchanged confused, worried glances before shaking their heads.

Hoshi's eyes widened in dismay. "I-Itou-san too . . .?"

"No . . . only the four students we mentioned." Shoji's heart sank at the anxious expressions on their faces. "There was no such boy you talk of."

"I-It's Itou, right?" Reiko tried to smile but her lips twisted into a grimace. She grabbed Kasai's shoulders and stuttered, "H-H-He's strong! I-Itou's really strong! Nothing would take him . . . down that easily!"

"Actually, girl, I think it's likely he's dead."

"Out of the way!" The blonde sputtered in bewilderment as Tentacole pulled her and Kasai away from the spot they'd been standing in, blocking the two against a katana swipe. Koiwai moved a few steps back, holding a gleaming, bloodied blade poised to strike and Hoshi screamed as one of Tentacole's hands dropped to the floor, cleanly chopped off.

As Saji clumsily got up on his feet, Kyouka hissed, "Why?! My Heartbeat Pierce should've left you immobile for at least fifteen minutes!"

"Don't . . . lump us in with third-rate henchmen . . .," the fish-eyed man groaned, gesturing towards the other gangsters who'd been knocked out cold. Yasu stepped back, pushing his friends behind him as Saji and Koiwai stepped towards them, eyes glowering.

"We're Float and Blade Meister, two of Graviton's Fatal Four." Saji's feet lifted off the ground even as Koiwai took a running stance. "And you Pros should know we won't go down so easily."

"Make for the exit and find Anima! He'll escort you to safety!" Tentacole yelled as he blocked another strike from Koiwai, wrapping a hand around the blade tip in an attempt to break it off. Hoshi stared wide-eyed at the blood dripping down his palm before she was jolted by Kasai and dragged through the entrance, emerging out into the main halls.

But before they could even properly assess what was happening, a devastating earthquake threw everything into chaos.

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 8:21 p.m. – South Musutafu)**

"Well, _they_ definitely won't be getting up for a while."

Kirisaki, as well as his henchmen, had their lights knocked out by a single punch from Deku. Free from their binds, the 1-A students watched as a whole squad of policemen began swarming into the area, along with the popular Heroes Earphone Jack, Tentacole and Anima. Koji even recognised some less popular ones with them.

"Surround the house! Make sure to follow the layouts given to you and check for all and any blind spots!"

"Move, move, move! Guns drawn at the ready! Not a single one should escape!"

"All squad members and Heroes will prioritise the search for and safety of the described hostages!"

"Professionals are really something else," Kenio muttered with awe as he watched the geared police and Heroes move swiftly and confidently, pouring inside the white building. On the other hand, he was so exhausted that he couldn't even move on his own and had to lean against Jigoku for support.

Inori, although fascinated with everything that was happening, couldn't take her eyes off Deku. Even when he did something as mundane as adjust his gloves, he looked brilliantly inspiring and admirable.

' _Eh . . . my heartbeat's speeding up again . . .'_

"The four of you should get out of this neighbourhood and get to a safe distance," Deku turned to them with a solemn face and at that look, the quartet knew they were going to face big trouble tomorrow. "I really wish we could've afforded a protection and escort squad for you guys but I'm afraid our resources and time are rather tight right now."

When Inori realised what he was saying, words suddenly poured out of her mouth. "But Fujita and the others-"

"I am here, Tetsuya-san." Her heart skipped one – no, three – beats at the words and his reassuring smile. "Besides, you are in no condition to protest in your current state, bleeding from several wounds. And I can see Nakamura-san is about to pass out as well."

She looked at the ginger with realisation dawning upon her and he gave her a weak, sheepish smile. _'I have been selfish.'_ Guilt crashed upon her in heaving torrents. She'd promised to protect all of them and had massively failed. And, on top of that, she hadn't paid attention to her friend's deteriorating condition.

' _I'm pathetic.'_

' _ **Yes, you definitely are.'**_

"You are right, sensei," Inori bowed apologetically. "I will immediately-"

But before she could complete her words, a violent earthquake cut through everyone's defences, throwing everything into complete pandemonium.

* * *

 **(Sunday, 15** **th** **May, 8:29 p.m. – Midoriya Household)**

Ochako stared out at the brilliantly glimmering city below from her apartment's balcony, eyes listless as various thoughts invaded her mind. The lights in the living room were switched on and a few documents, her laptop and her cell phone carelessly littered the wooden coffee table.

 _( "Are you taking him away? Forever?" )_

A wistful sigh escaped her as she rubbed her swollen belly, filled with new life that had been the culmination of her and Deku's union.

. . . Even the thought of being separated from the baby inside her was too painful for her to grasp.

"I hope . . . they're alright . . .," she muttered, leaning against the plush chair and closing her eyes. "All of them . . ."

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Inori: No author's note this time?**

 **Pinky: . . . Hmmm, I really have nothing to say.**

 **Kenshi: Oi, you hag.**

 **Pinky: H-Hag?!**

 **Kenshi: What reward do the most popular five get?**

 **Pinky: Ah, that! Well it's a secret . . .**

 **Kenshi: NOT AGAIN!**

 **Pinky: But let's just say you'll enjoy it! Ehehehehe!**

 **Kenshi: I really don't like the creepy face you're making . . . -_-;**


	22. Ch 21 - Papa

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 21 – 'Papa'**

' _All I ever wanted . . . was_ _ **their**_ _happiness.'_

 _( "I love you, Danuja-san."_

 _Rin was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, a goddess that lay pressed against his bare chest with soft moonlight pooling over her naked body. His only reply was a smile and a chaste kiss to her forehead; actions filled with love, meant for and understood only by her._

 _Although, when she took his rough palm into her warm hands and pressed them against her round stomach, he realised that his love had to soon be shared. And he couldn't wait for that time._

" _I can't wait to meet her," her eyes pooled with happy tears as she curled into him, soaking in his warmth. "The little baby growing inside me . . . the baby we created . . . it is the most precious thing I will ever possess."_

 _Danuja was not a man of many words but where he had to state them, he would. "_ _ **Our**_ _most precious possession, Rin," he murmured against her lips, kissing her deep. And then, they looked at each other and smiled._

 _Yes . . . the day their precious possession would come into this world . . . would be the happiest day of their lives. )_

' _There was nothing I wouldn't do for them. Nothing that could bar my love for them.'_

 _( "P . . . pa . . . pa . . . PAPA!"_

" _There, there, Danuja-san, don't cry, don't cry.~" But even as Rin patted him comfortingly, tears were eking out of the corners of her eyes too. He, however, could only wordlessly stare at the soft, fragile, smiling bundle in his arms, eyes wet and pouring._

 _His Hoshi . . ._ _ **their**_ _Hoshi . . . was staring at him with sleepy amber eyes. And smiling._

' _Papa.'_

 _Her first words had been for no one else but him._

 _And that day, for the first time in years, Fujita Danuja cried. )_

' _My Hoshi . . . my Rin . . . why have you abandoned me?'_

 _( "STAY AWAY FROM HER!"_

 _Rin's eyes were vicious as they glared at him, wet with tears of seething rage; in her arms sobbed young Hoshi, face hidden in the bosom of her mother. The girl was shaking with fear._

" _Hoshi," Danuja ignored the sad tremors of his heart and his daughter jerked at the mention of her name, growing stiff. "You are my sole successor and the only one I will entrust my gang to." Rin's lower lip trembled in fright, or in anger, or in a combination of both. "And when that day comes, you will have no choice but to fulfil your role."_

" _SHE WON'T! SHE'S NOT LIKE YOU!" Rin screamed, hugging her daughter tighter. Danuja stared at them with an unreadable expression before sighing and walking towards the apartment door, his underlings turning to follow him. Hoshi peeked out from behind her mother's long locks and shrivelled at the hateful gaze the black-haired boy, Ren, shot her._

 _But as her father opened the door, she knew there was something she_ _ **had**_ _to say._

" _Papa."_

 _Graviton immediately paused and turned towards her with hope._

 _But her blurry eyes were filled with sadness and anger as they stared back at him._

" _You're not . . . the papa I love." )_

' _But no matter how much you hurt me . . . I will always love and want the best for you.'_

Ren stares out of the narrow window of the dark room at the chaotic scene outside, watching without comment as Deku knocks Kirisaki out without the least amount of trouble and the squads of police and Pro Heroes begin to pour into their territory. He is seething with rage and wishes nothing more than to tear apart Hoshi, the cause of everything, at this very moment-

But as long as his 'father' is with him, he knows that everything will be okay.

"Graviton, I did promise to help you with your daughter but the arrival of the police and Pro Heroes was not included in our arrangements."

Dr. xxxxxxxx is sitting in the most shadowed corner of the room and it is obvious they are unpleased at the turn of events. But Danuja's face is in its usual visage of sobriety, not a muscle tense in his body. He calmly states, "You are welcome to sit in the helicopter. If we are not with you and the situation seems dire, you are free to leave."

Dr. xxxxxxxx wastes no time in getting up and stretches their muscles in a carefree way; Ren wants to carve off the amused smile on their face. "For a Villain, you certainly are a man of morals! I shall be going ahead then." Walking stick in hand, they proceeded to briskly walk towards the door and their attendant, who darted in from God knows where, was escorting them before Ren could even sense their presence.

However, before they could exit from the open door, the doctor turned back one last time and nodded at Danuja, still smiling. "I hope we meet again, Graviton. It would be a waste to not use my effective surgery on Hoshi-chan. Cleanly wiping her memories of anything that she doesn't need for her new life . . . wouldn't that be wonderful for you?"

Danuja didn't reply for a while. "Thank you, Dr. xxxxxxxx," he finally stated, hoping to get them to leave. They chuckled heartily before walking away, their attendant shutting the door behind them.

"Father," Ren urged, as soon as they were the only two people in the room. "We should leave too." _'You don't need that ungrateful little brat. I'll be your new child . . . a son who will make you proud.'_

"Ren."

The boy immediately stood to attention, ready to die if the man asked him to.

"As soon as you get the chance, I want you to nab Hoshi and get her to the helicopter. Knock her out if you have to."

Ren grit his teeth in anger but swallowed it all down. These were father's words, his God's words, and he would follow them no matter what. But . . .

"But what about Deku?" he asked, the tiniest bit frightened. There were only a few people whose strength Ren was afraid of and, even though he hated to admit it, the baby-faced Number 1 Pro Hero was at the top of the list along with his father.

As soon as the words left his mouth, each and every object in the room – the chairs, the table, the bed, the vase, the window panes – **everything** shattered. Exploding with sudden and violent brutality, forcing the boy to cover his face from stray chips.

When he opened his eyes, the neat room had been utterly destroyed. Fragments and splinters was all that was left behind.

Danuja's blue curls floated above his head, eyes resembling luminous orbs of poisoned sulphur.

" **I** will take care of him."

* * *

 **(15** **th** **May, Sunday, 8:16 p.m. – Graviton's Hideout)**

Haruka finally decided to acknowledge the fact that he was completely and utterly lost.

"You, bra-"

A metal fist slammed into the mobster's face, cleanly breaking his nose while another grabbed the gun in his hand. Haruka stared at his bloodied knuckles with disgust before stooping down to wipe them on the unconscious, bleeding man's blazer.

As he was doing so, a bullet hit his shin but was deflected by the metal.

Wasting no time, he turned around and shot the gun in his hand, the steel in his fingers ringing due to the recoil. The man he was shooting at shrieked as the bullet missed him and ducked past, and fired another shot. But this one, too, hit Haruka's left arm and was deflected – the boy, however, did not miss his shot and cleanly shot through the thigh of the second man.

"Arggggghhhhh!" His pained screams were already drawing in the nearby mobsters and as he collapsed to the ground, the dark-haired teen saw this as his chance and dashed off, taking his newly acquired gun with him.

' _I need to find a way to that helicopter . . . and fast.'_

The hallways were dark and wide, with several doors located on either sides of adjacent corridors; people seemed to be yelling in all directions but every time he would hear footsteps rushing in his direction, he would slip inside an open doorway or hide himself behind a pillar. He was thankful for the building being dimly lit because, otherwise, he would've been noticed ages ago.

Haruka was no strategist but Yasu's words had left an impression in his mind. He'd noticed the helicopter flying towards the top of the building as well but at that time, hadn't really realised or thought about the purpose behind it.

Slightly opening the door of the room he was hiding in, he peeked out and checked both sides to make sure no one was in his immediate vicinity. There was a lot of yelling and everyone seemed to be rushing towards the building entrances. But he didn't pay much attention to the fact and hurried out of the room, running as fast as he could towards the centre of the building.

' _If I can just destroy that helicopter, everything will be solved.'_

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

He immediately froze mid-step, a cold chill breaking out on his nape.

As footsteps ominously sauntered towards him, the click of a gun's barrel passed through his ear. "Hands above your head! NOW!" Swallowing the heavy lump in his throat, he did as he was told – and sooner than he'd wished, cold metal was digging into the back of his throat.

' _Shit. I messed up.'_

"Even though you don't look like a kid, you definitely ain't one of us, are ya?" Haruka stayed silent, trying to come up with a way to escape this situation. He wished he could've used Missile but in such an enclosed area, the risk of injuring himself was far too great. "Don't remember anyone of us having metal limbs," and with those words, the man lightly kicked the back of Haruka's shin. Although it didn't hurt the slightest, the sonorous ringing was beginning to make him panic.

"I know Boss told us to try not to kill any of you but the Pros are here and I don't wanna take any chances with a UA student." At his words, the teen's eyes widened. _'Pro Heroes are here?!'_

But his relief was short-lived. For the man chuckled, "So it's goodbye now, kiddo."

The boy shut his eyes and waited for an intense pain to explode through his throat.

"GRRRRRRR!"

"What the-?!" the man cried out in pain and surprise as a tall German Shepherd jumped at him from the sad, sinking its teeth into his right hand. He screamed as his flesh was ripped off and tried to push away the vicious dog but a large, black Rottweiler had rushed to its aid and both of them were able to subdue the Villain with ease.

Haruka stared at the scene silently, still from shock as a light-furred Labrador Retriever comfortingly licked at his face. And from the shadows, appeared a familiar Pro Hero, dressed in a red, white and golden bodysuit that cut off right below his knees.

"Are you okay, child?!" It was definitely Anima – the shy Pro Hero and an alumnus of UA, with his soft, high-pitched voice enunciated by the hole-filled mask around his mouth. Haruka quietly took the hand offered to him and was surprised how easily the tall, rock-bodied man picked him up. But he realised that for the powerful man, it wasn't too much of a feat.

"Yes . . . thank you," he slightly bowed, relief darting through him as he stared at the bloodied mobster on the ground – although the man was rather wounded, he would live.

Anima smiled at him before bending down towards the Villain and tying him up with thick, black binds from the pouch around his waist. "I'm glad I made it in time," there was audible relief in the adult's voice as he double knotted the binds. "Don't worry. Now that the Pro Heroes and the police are here, we will make sure to escort you all to safety." Koda Koji smiled at the stone-faced teen reassuringly.

Indeed, Haruka could here gunfights and yells come from almost each and every direction. He stood silently as all three dogs, with vests strapped to them, stood in attention; even though he could hear nothing, it was obvious that Anima was communicating something to them as they stared at him with attentive gazes.

The fifteen-year old was snapped out of his thoughts as the Pro turned to him. "For the moment, I shall escort you outside. Please stick close to m-"

But at that very moment, a powerful earthquake shook through the entire building, seeming to almost topple the large structure's very foundations.

The two humans and three dogs were forced to lay flat against the floor as the ground under their feet shook dangerously. Haruka looked up at the ceiling as bits and pieces of rubble dropped around them, dust falling down in sawed showers and the gunfights in the distance ceased. Although he was panicking on the inside, when he saw how composed Anima and the dogs were despite the danger of the situation, he forced himself to remain unruffled.

After ten seconds or so, the shaking stopped. And, thankfully, they hadn't been crushed by rubble.

"Are you okay?!" Anima asked, worriedly staring at Haruka. The dogs jumped up, their ears standing alert. Dusting off his back and shoulders, the boy nodded.

And then, the German Shepherd turned to his owner and let out two short woofs. Whatever the dog seemed to have said caused the Hero's expression to tense.

' _Are they . . . really talking?'_ Haruka wondered as Koda and the German Shepherd faced each other and began their illegible conversation; the former seemed to remain completely silent while only moving his head or hands while the latter talked in a series of woofs, whimpers and howls. And, at the end, the Labrador barked at Anima and, with drooping shoulders, the Hero turned to him.

"Umm, excuse me but . . .," the Pro hesitated in the middle of his sentence, his soft voice trailing off even further. But taking in a deep breath, he continued, "The dogs tell me there is an emergency up ahead as they heard cries for help from people they recognise. I have a feeling it might be my allies calling for me and . . . I know I promised to escort you outside but-"

"Anima," Haruka knew it was rude to cut an adult off mid-sentence but he couldn't bear it any longer, "I shall go with you. I am a UA student and I can handle this much."

Koda shrivelled on the inside, stuck between a rock and a hard place for the first time in many years. _'Going out there is dangerous. I don't know if I will be able to protect him. But sending him out alone is just as, if not more, dangerous. Ah, I can't even ignore those cries . . . If they're of Kyouka-san or Mezo-kun . . .'_

"Anima." But seeing such a determined fire burn in the young boy's eyes, the Hero's heart had already made its decision. "Let me accompany you. I believe . . . my friends are out there."

' _Those eyes . . .'_

"Please stay close to me, young boy!" The two males dashed through the cracked corridors with the dogs following closely beside them, jumping over large and small fragments of rubble. "No matter what happens, I'll definitely protect you!"

"It's Itou Haruka, sir," the high school student informed, slowing himself down a little to match pace with Anima. When they turned the intersection and emerged into a wider section of hallways, Haruka realised that they'd been lucky. They had escaped with only pieces of rubble and dust falling upon them but the inner areas of the building-

Seemed to have been badly destroyed.

' _Just what . . . caused this earthquake?'_ Dust seemed to float around everywhere from the broken pieces of concrete, glass and steel that lay littered around. The doors that lined the corridors had mostly caved in from the tremors and cracks had spread all over the floor, ceiling and walls. Some parts of the ceiling had even given away and crashed to the ground and even the support pillars had been dangerously damaged. Eyeing everything, Haruka realised that another earthquake, even a minor one, would completely cause the building to break down.

"Anima!" From behind pieces of rubble, a voice called out. The dogs were completely on guard but when they saw it was a couple of police officers, they relaxed. One of them, a young, short-haired female, coughed as she spoke, "S-Sir . . . ahem . . . We've mostly subdued the Villains in this area . . . ahem, ahem . . . before the earthquake. But . . . urgh . . . we heard cries of help from the corridor located further below."

"Thank you for your hard work," Anima nodded at them and Haruka could only watch in amazement at how professionally everyone handled themselves, despite the difficulty of the situation. _'. . . I wonder if dad is like this, too?'_ "Please continue to look for survivors and focus on the rescue of the injured." The officers chorused an affirmation and before they could leave, Koda sent the Rottweiler along to assist them.

"It may get dangerous, Itou-kun, so stay close," the Pro whispered as they jogged towards the darkened corridor that lay further ahead and Haruka realised that this was the direction Reiko and the others had come into. His lips pursed in worry, the quartet pressed on ahead and the remnants of destruction only seemed to increase the further they walked.

But despite the seeming hopelessness of the situation, Anima's back was straight and firm.

' _I . . . am going to be a strong Hero too.'_ Haruka had never really paid much attention to the man in front of him; for the boy, the pinnacle of Hero society were figures like Deku and Ground Zero, strong men with powerful Quirks who destroyed the most dangerous Villains with ease. Anima was someone he'd always thought was a 'weaker' Hero, one only capable of offering support to the major fighters. A background Hero he would never want to be like.

And now, the boy couldn't help smiling a little. _'Maybe . . . I was a little wrong.'_

There was another turn in the corridor and Koda gasped at the destruction that stretched across the hallways in front of them. The windows had been completely shattered; thousands of glass fragments lay spilled on the floor, a major part of the ceiling had fallen and steel poles, cement blocks and iron bars were littered all over. The smell of dust was thick in the air but suddenly, something seemed to prick the ears of the two dogs. Without a sound, they rushed forward and Anima ran after them, a confused Haruka following behind.

The dogs soon stopped in front of a huge pile of accumulated rubble and began barking at it, Anima stopping short. Then, with a sudden gasp, he lunged towards the broken concrete and began pulling at the slabs.

As the dust clouds began settling, long strands of blonde hair caught Haruka's eye from under the rubble.

His eyes shot wide. _'. . . Shimamura.'_

"Itou-san, there're people underneath here!" Anima cried and the boy was beside him within seconds, grabbing the rough edges of debris and pulling them away with as much strength as he could muster. The top of an open doorway could be seen on the right side of the demolished wall but the wreckage from the earthquake had blocked most of it.

"K-Koji, is that you?"

Anima's eyes seemed to well up at the husky female voice and both he and Haruka rushed to pull away a large slab that was being pushed by the figure trapped underneath. When they succeeded, they were met with the sight of an injured and bleeding but alive Earphone Jack. And, underneath her, an unconscious and dusty but alive Fujita Hoshi.

"Kyouka-san!" Anima's voice seemed ready to burst out crying as he helped the female Pro up. "I'm so glad . . . I'm so glad you and Fujita-chan are okay!"

A larger slab began shaking violently nearby but before Haruka could do something, it broke up into smaller pieces, revealing a bruised and bloody Tentacole. Underneath him lay Reiko, Kasai and Yasu, out cold but mostly uninjured. After seeing the four of them safe, the teen finally released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"Koda," Tentacole breathed in relief as all of his two dozen or so arms (which he'd no question used to protect the teens against the rubble) reverted into their normal form. "And . . .," his gaze turned to Haruka, ". . . Itou Haruka, I hope?" When the boy nodded an affirmation, both the large man and Earphone Jack exchanged relieved looks.

"We should leave for outside immediately!" Anima spoke up, catching everyone's attention in their brief moment of reprieve. "This building won't be able to take another quake like earlier!"

"But . . .," Tentacole was hesitating, staring at the blocked doorway; before the sudden tremor had almost buried them under a pile of rubble, he and Kyouka had been able to push the duo of Float and Blade Meister to the edge. ". . . There are still people down there." Even if they were Villains, he couldn't leave them to suffocate and die . . .

"Shoji," Kyouka, groggy from the hard knock to her head, barely managed to put an assuring hand on her tall friend's bicep. "I know how you feel but right now, these kids' lives are more important."

As if coming back to his senses, Tentacole nodded, an apologetic look settling on his face. "You're right . . . I'm sorry." His Dupli Arms doubled into sixteen and he picked up Kasai and Yasu as if they weighed nothing, securing them to his back. Anima picked up Hoshi, carefully bundling her in his arms and, because of Earphone Jack's injuries, Haruka was asked to carry Reiko on his back.

She let out low groans as her head rolled against his nape but made no motions of waking up. _'She's really light,'_ the boy couldn't help thinking _, 'Does she even eat?'_

Led by the dogs, the group of Pro Heroes and students manoeuvred through the destroyed corridors as fast as they could, avoiding the pieces of demolition that had been left behind in the wake of the mysterious quake. Although Haruka and his classmates were completely unaware of what had caused it, the three Pros had a fair idea of who exactly had been behind such a violent, powerful tremor.

And it was someone only one amongst them could win against.

* * *

 **Student Name: Kazumi Enoshima**

 **Quirk: Ophidian**

 **Ophidian gives Kazumi the body of a snake from her waist down, giving her many abilities and traits of a large snake. Her long tail also has heavy muscle power and great speed and she can grow taller and longer in size while using her Quirk.**

 **P.S: Kazumi sheds her snakeskin two times annually.**

* * *

 **(15** **th** **May, 8:41 p.m. – Graviton's Hideout)**

Thankfully, no one was injured.

As Inori slowly raised herself up in the aftermath of the earthquake, she realised her legs were shaking and that a cold sweat had broken out on her back. Her heart vibrated brutally against her ribcage and a wave of nostalgia hit her at their current situation.

Yes, just like that day.

 _( "I'M GONNA MAKE THE UNFLINCHING DEKU SCREAM WITH SORROW!" )_

Sounds of retching brought her back to reality.

It turned out to be Kenio who was vomiting the contents of his stomach on the gravel, sunk on all fours. She could only stand and stare uselessly as Deku and Jigoku comforted the ginger; even Koji was trying to cheer him up.

Wiping away the traces of bile on his mouth, the freckled boy was close to tears. "I-I'm sorry, everyone," his face was flushed, either with embarrassment or with exhaustion. "I . . . I couldn't . . . hold it in . . . I-"

"You don't need to be, Nakamura-kun," Deku smiled at him gently, dabbing at the vomit traces around his mouth with a handkerchief as his other hand rubbed his back. When Kenio finally burst into tears at the gesture, despite furiously trying to wipe them away, he added, "You've been very, very strong and brave till now. Don't worry anymore . . . I won't let anything happen to any of you."

"I-I-I'm sorry, Deku," the boy's voice cracked as hot tears furiously rolled down his cheeks, unable to be restrained by his moping fists. "I thought . . . I thought I could . . . be stronger than . . . than this. But lately I just . . . I just . . ." His face scrunched up as hiccups racked his body. Kenio's slim shoulders quivered at each brutal sob that violated his body, threatening to tear him down.

"Oi, mate, you're fine. You're completely fine," Jigoku smiled awkwardly, patting the boy's shoulder. "Without Toon Force, all of us would've been completely demolished."

"That's right, Nakamura-kun!" Koji still hadn't lost his pep, his grin as mischievous and as energetic as ever. "You were just like Stan Lee! Like Masashi Kishimoto! Like . . . like a cuter, modern era, cartoonish Da Vinci!"

Plastering a fake smile on his tired face, Kenio tried to grin his tears away. "Heh . . . y-you're right, guys," even so, his voice cracked. "I . . . I'm being pretty stupid and . . . and weak now, aren't I?"

Inori stepped towards him, hands reached out. "Keni-"

But a sudden, powerful wave washed over the area and within seconds, everyone in the vicinity was forced flat on the ground. Unable to move an inch.

' _W-What's this?!'_ Inori tried to get up but despite all her efforts, failed. _'I . . . I can't even lift a finger!"_

All of the policemen and the pro Heroes in the area were going through the same situation – it was like there was some heavy weight dragging them towards the ground, trying to pull them inside the very earth. It was only with great difficulty that she, and some of the others, were barely able to raise their heads to look around, the rest of their bodies flat against the terrain.

Deku was the only one who remained standing, eyes a frightening shade of burnished emeralds that stared into the distance.

"I was hoping I would never have to see you in person again, Midoriya-san."

A distant voice as cold as ice.

Slowly, from the direction of the white-washed building, a figure emerged into view. Inori squinted her eyes until her pupils narrowed into the black slits of her Monster form, affording her a much clearer view of an average-looking man dressed in a neat black and crimson suit. A thin beard and moustache spread over the lower half of his face and curls a very familiar shade of cerulean floated above his head like swaying tendrils. But his eyes – cold, merciless ambers of gold – left goosebumps over her skin.

Imprints of fear.

There was no question as to who this man was.

"So you finally decided to come out of hiding, Graviton," Deku gritted, his muscles tightening as he rebelled against the intense gravity trying to push him to the ground.

"Hiding?" Fujita Danuja's impassive visage showed hints of confusion, an eyebrow quirked. "I wasn't hiding. I _never_ hide. Both you and your wife are well aware of that." And then, a distasteful look settled into his eyes. "Speaking about Ochako-san . . . how is she? I heard she's pregnant."

" _None_ of your business." Inori, Jigoku, Kenio and Koji bit back their urge to scream when Deku's feet sunk into the earth. But his body remained as straight as a rod, knees not even a little bent. His muscles had tightened furthered as his green bodysuit plastered to the ripples of his thighs and biceps.

"Must be pleasant for her . . . jumping into the family life with her husband after destroying my family." Bitterness and hatred, sorrow and anger; everything seemed to have been buried down under a layer of cold, unfeeling ruthlessness.

But at those words, something inside Deku snapped.

 _( "Deku-sensei~!" Hoshi smiled up at him, rotating the flaming marbles between her palms. "I've become better at my control!~" )_

"How could you . . . even say that . . ."

His fists shook with seething anger, even as the intense gravity almost made his knees fold. Danuja's eyes were a bright, almost burning, colour of gold.

 _( "Please, I beg of you Deku-san," the frail woman clasped her thin fingers around his shoulders, her haggard face falling towards the floor. "I'll do anything . . . give you everything I have but please . . . bring back my daughter." Even her tears had all withered up, leaving her eyes as dry as blackened lakes._

" _She is . . . the only one I have . . ." )_

". . . WHEN YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DESTROYED THEM?!"

Deku lunged forward with such speed that no one saw him even move before he was already in front of Graviton, an uppercut aimed straight at his chin. But without even moving a finger, the latter released the effect of gravity on his own body and shot straight up towards the sky, causing Deku's punch to miss him by a few milliseconds. Without wasting time, the Number 1 Hero jumped in the air towards him, no longer affected by heavy gravity due to his opponent's loss of control.

And, conversely, everyone on the ground realised that they could move again.

"We should help Deku!" one of the Pro Heroes yelled out, ready to use the scaly wings on his back to take to the sky.

"As if we'll let you!"

However, before anyone could move upwards, a mass of black suited mobsters began pouring out of the white building. As soon as they were a few metres away, they drew out semi-automatic rifles and opened fire.

"SQUAD, FORMATION!" A dozen or so officers formed an erect, straight line in front of the others with bulletproof shields ready to deflect the bullets. They were supported by a young, black-haired Hero who formed a wall of earth from the ground in order to cover the remaining people. Jigoku and Koji helped Kenio as they and Inori rushed behind it to take cover, deciding to stay at the backlines. Now that her adrenaline rush was fading, she was beginning to feel the sting of all the cuts Ren and his colleagues had inflicted upon her.

In the air, Deku aimed another powerful punch at Graviton but right before his fist could connect, the man dropped the gravity around him and the freckled Hero found himself falling fast to the ground, right to where the gangster's henchmen stood. But gritting his teeth, Deku concentrated a lot of power into his legs and threw them in the direction of the crumpled building, crashing inside through a wall after escaping Graviton's force field.

' _Looks like direct attacks are useless against his gravity control!'_ Izuku rushed towards the hole he'd crashed in from, not wasting a single moment to catch his breath. _'So it's time to use a more indirect approach!'_

Graviton, hovering high up in the air and keeping a close eye on the place his opponent had crashed through, did not see the brutally powerful air wave coming his way. So before he could even blink, the great force sent him hurtling through the air, cutting through his Absolute Gravity and throwing him in a trajectory that headed him straight towards the ground.

' _Now's my chance!'_ Having mastered the finger flick he'd first used against Todoroki Shoto in the UA sports festival fifteen years ago, Deku demolished the rubble under his feet as he launched himself into the air, headed straight for Graviton. The air wave had momentarily thrown the mobster's senses into disarray and his mind in a chaotic scramble, leaving him too debilitated to use his Quirk.

' _Time to destroy this in one shot!'_ A luminous green aura sparked around Deku's right fist, exuding crackles of power into the air around it. As he shot through the dark night sky, metres away from destroying the city's most powerful gangster, his fist swerved into a powerful arc, aimed right below Graviton's ribcage.

"DETROIT . . . **SMAAA-**!"

And right then, a single gunshot rung through the air.

Before anyone could realise what was happening, a bullet pierced through Deku's arm.

Down below, the intense firing battle between the gangsters and the police momentarily paused as thin showers of blood spurted out of the hole in the Symbol of Peace's arm.

' _No . . . NO . . .'_

Without knowing what she was doing, Inori took off to the air. "SENSEIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

"No . . .," Kenio felt his eyes drooping close, his feet giving out from lack of strength. "Not sensei . . . not Deku . . ."

"Oi, Nakamura!" Jigoku caught him in time, shaking the boy. "Get a hold of yourself! Nakamura!" Koji looked from his classmates to the fighting police to the Hero he'd admired since he could walk.

The Hero who was now falling through the air.

The bullet whizzing past had shaken Graviton to his senses and he'd immediately increased the gravity around Deku, taking it to the maximum. As a result, the freckled male was forced to use a lot of power to merely slow down his fall – but the intense pain in his arm was making it hard to concentrate.

' _This bullet . . . is definitely not normal.'_ He lifted his arm and stared at the dark purple skin visible under the rips of his suit. _'Poison . . .? Or some kind of powerful acid . . .'_

The whirring blades of a helicopter made him snap his head to the right. There was no doubt the shot had been fired from there.

And as the structure took to the sky, Inori chased after it, gigantic claws on her hands and feet flexing violently. " **I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY**!" she screamed, flapping her wings with brutal power, baring a row of pointed, sharp teeth. Horns were beginning to emerge out of her head, face twisted grotesquely with anger.

But before she could get close enough to it, a black figure lunged at her from the side in a vicious attack. As its claws dug into her lower back, she hissed in pain and swatted at it sadistically, her nails cutting across thick feathers and skin. The creature squawked in pain and it was only when it moved away that she realised it was Ren; in the form of a large, eagle-like bird with a piercingly sharp beak and claws. The two beasts hovered around each other for a few seconds before charging forward, each lost to their own throes of anger.

As the helicopter flew away, Dr. xxxxxxxx clicked their tongue in annoyance, their assistant shifting away the position of their rifle. "This is why I don't like youngsters," they shook their head in disappointment. "Destroying all results of practicality and logic with their irrational emotions. But . . .," their gold-plated teeth were exposed by the delighted grin that lit up their face, ". . . I love the fact I got to test my new 'chemical' on the world's Number 1 Hero. I'm very, _very_ happy."

On the other hand, the ragtag group of four unconscious students, their conscious classmate, two police dogs and three Pro Heroes finally escaped the half-destroyed building and emerged outside. Kyouka cursed out loud as she watched the helicopter fly out of their sight and disappear into the dark blanket of the night sky. "Looks like we were too late."

"G-Guys, that's Deku!" Anima was the first to notice their ex-classmate's slow fall through the air and as soon as Tentacole's eyes fell on him, he immediately put down Kasai and Yasu and rushed towards the green-haired Hero's rescue. The police and the mobsters had engaged each other in direct combat, two winged figures were having a vicious airborne fight and Graviton was slowly but gradually heading towards them from faraway.

In Anima's arms, Hoshi began to stir awake.

"DEKU!"

Izuku landed on a mass of several interconnected hands and Tentacole slowly put him down on the ground, helping his friend stabilise on his feet. The shorter adult gave him a reassuring smile but flinched at the sudden, violent throbs in his injured hand. As he tried to touch the area, he was forced to pull his hand away . . . for the flesh had bloated painfully and turned purple.

Kyouka, Anima and Tentacole stared at it with horror. "Shit . . ."

"Don't worry, guys!" But excruciating pain had never been something the Hero had given up against. Since his teenage years, he'd been fighting against villainy with broken bones, torn muscles and wounded organs. "I can . . . still finish Graviton!"

Hoshi's eyes fluttered open at the name, her senses slowly coming back to her.

' _Is that . . . Deku-sensei . . .?'_ Droopy amber eyes flickered from the man's face to his somewhat deformed arm. _'He's . . . hurt? He's . . . bleeding . . .'_

"Deku, the three of us are gonna distract him when he gets here!" Kyouka stated as she pulled out a small, thin vial from the inner pocket of her jacket. "And you use the Quirk erasing serum on him then!"

Nodding gravely, Izuku took the serum from Earphone Jack's palm with his left hand. "Understood. No matter what . . . I will stab him with this syringe."

"We have only one of that," Tentacole added, as all four Pros took their positions – Anima set the awake Hoshi down on the ground, who quietly sat and stared at everything going on. "So we have only one chance."

Graviton, now only a few hundred metres away, reached the sky above his warring gang and the police. As soon as he was near, his Absolute Gravity forced them all on the ground.

But ignoring them, he continued to surge forward. His murder-filled eyes were glaring straight at the four Pros.

Meanwhile, above in the sky, Ren slashed across Inori's chest, talons deep into her flesh. "No one has ever understood father! Not even his own daughter!"

Although almost blind with pain, the raging girl refused to give up her relentless attacks on him.

"Only I have . . . Only **I** have ever truly cared for him!" the bird screamed, returning every wound she made on him.

And down below, Hoshi was plagued with old memories.

 _( Her papa . . . broken, battered and bloodied. Even after all he'd done, she couldn't help asking the brunette Hero:_

" _Are you taking papa away? . . . Forever?" )_

"Sensei . . ."

Why were tears rolling down her cheeks?

Deku turned to her over his shoulder and smiled. A pure, heart-warming smile. "Your papa will be fine, Hoshi-chan."

 _( "Your papa will be fine, Hoshi-chan." )_

Yes, that was Uravity had told her with a smile on her beaten up face so many years ago.

"GO!"

Graviton's speed was intense as he lunged at them from the air and, as expected, his Absolute Gravity forced everyone on the ground except Deku. The freckled Hero swerved a powerful, blinding kick at the Villain but it was much slower and weaker than he'd expected. The mobster easily dodged it and even the air currents were repelled by Absolute Gravity.

Izuku grit his teeth in anger. _'Just what has this bullet done to my body?!'_

However, the attack was enough to throw Graviton a little off-loop and seizing the chance, the other three Pros were able to cut through the field of his Quirk. Tentacole threw a barrage of punches at him with sixteen of his arms – although the first two managed to hit his chest, Graviton deflected the others towards the ground and forced Shoji down.

Then, he quickly turned back and reversing the air flow of gravity, cancelled the reverberation of Kyouka's Heartbeat Fuzz before it could reach him. When she tried to stab him with her ear jacks, he decreased the gravity around her and sent her up in the air.

"Kyouka-san!" Anima cried out. Deku shot out after her but his legs, due to lack of power, failed to reach the woman's height as she was pushed further up.

Earphone Jack panicked as she was sent further and further away to the edge of the troposphere, the ground below turning smaller and smaller. She flailed and tried to swim downwards but the reversed gravity rebelled against her movements.

Haruka, who'd been a mute spectator of everything until now, slowly set down the stirring Reiko beside Yasu and Kasai. And stepping back a few steps, he broke into a jog before dashing into full speed, the metal craters beneath his soles flaring up.

' _Now's my chance . . . to become a strong Hero.'_

Graviton noted as the boy took off in the air towards Earphone Jack but the wave of his Absolute Gravity was cancelled out by a powerful finger flick from Deku.

The Villain pursed his lips in confusion; even though the green-haired Hero was panting and soaked with perspiration, his face twisted in pain as his swollen right arm hung limp . . . why was he going so far?

"I will never understand you Heroes," he placidly mumbled, hurling Anima and the dogs away seconds before they could attack him from behind. They crashed somewhere into the distance, their yelps dying out. Tentacole tried to attack him from below but with flashing golden eyes, he half buried the large Hero into the ground.

"I will never understand why you would go so far for the sake of strangers." He muttered, stopping Deku's left hand with another surge of power. As the Hero's weakened fist shook wildly, Graviton gently took the serum from between his forced open palms and dangled it carelessly between his fingers.

"No . . ." Deku tried to reach for it but his body lagged severely; and Graviton only moved further away. "Give it . . . back . . ."

' _Please . . .'_

Danuja stared at it with distaste, silently foaming at the mouth. 'The thing that forced me in captivity . . . that forced me away from my family . . . that took away my abilities to protect them . . .'

' _Please, Deku-sensei . . .'_

Deku forced his feet forward, dragging them through the dirt they'd been buried in. "Give. It. Back."

Graviton shifted his gaze to his contorted face, as placid as ever. And as he dropped the serum, he coldly replied, "No."

" _NOOOOOOOO!"_

Their final hope crashed uselessly towards the ground.

' _No . . .'_ Deku forced his stubborn body to move, bending down too slowly. _'I won't . . . make it . . .'_

But, before it could smash and break into a hundred fragments, it stopped centimetres away from the land.

Hoshi, who stood only a few metres away, wept silently as she begged, "Please, Deku-sensei."

Izuku and Danuja froze midway, watching the petite girl with shocked eyes.

"Please," her eyes glowed a luminous gold, blue curls hovering above her head. "Please . . . save papa."

A tear dropped down the Hero's eye, even as Graviton stared at his daughter in confusion.

"Hoshi," the man whispered, frozen, "Why-"

"I will save him, Hoshi-chan."

A broken smile spread across the girl's face as, with a sudden surge of power, Deku lifted his arm and aimed a punch at Graviton's face.

" **ONE FOR ALL . . .** _ **MINIMAL PUNCHHHHHHH!"**_

As his knuckles smashed into cheekbone and flesh, Danuja felt himself begin to black out from the intense pain as he heaved through the air, headed straight to the throng of his losing gang members. Picking up the serum from the ground, Deku dashed after him, ignoring the screaming exhaustion in his muscles as green sparks flecked all over his body.

Before Graviton's eyes could fully close, he saw the World's number one Hero's raging face.

' _That look . . . just like his wife . . .'_

 _( "Don't you know how much you're hurting your wife and daughter?!" )_

Deku grabbed the man's collar and pulled him towards him, unscrewing the cork on the syringe. "Whatever you think, Graviton . . . for all those years . . . your daughter always cared for you! And she still does!"

And even as he stabbed the syringe into his arm, all the man could think of were his words.

' _Hoshi . . . cares for me . . .?'_

As he fell down, his vision and memories fading, the last image he had was of the Hero standing above him. And the words that poured out of his mouth.

"She wrote you letters but they were kept away until you'd completed a part of your prison tenure." Izuku wiped away his tears quickly, watching the man's eyes blink close. "But we were going to allow you to finally read them after you tenure got over."

Deku gritted his teeth, trying to reign in his frustration and sadness. "And it was next month . . ."

' _. . . I see.'_

He'd lost again.

He'd lost the chance to get back with his family. He'd lost the chance to begin a new life afresh. He'd lost the gang he'd worked so hard to develop. He'd even lost his Quirk for the second time.

' _But even then . . .'_

But for the first time in a long while, a small smile bloomed on Fujita Danuja's face. A smile that stayed even as his mind faded away from the realm of consciousness.

' _Hoshi wrote me letters . . . my_ _ **daughter**_ _wrote me letters . . .'_

"Pa . . . pa . . .," Hoshi balled her fists at the peaceful look on her father's face, forcing herself to hold back her tears. She wouldn't cry anymore . . . no, for her sake she wouldn't. And for his too.

But there was someone who couldn't do the same.

"FATHEEEEEERRRRRRR!"

Ren's whole body metamorphosed with rage. A furious, violent shriek escaped him as his size increased and his talons turned sharper and larger, crimson eyes glinting stones of hate. He ignored the wounded Inori in front of him and darted towards Hoshi, wings leaving powerful surges in their wake.

"I'LL KILL YOU! **I'LL** _ **KILL**_ **YOU!** " His beak curved into a vicious edge, ready to tear apart the flesh of the girl a hundred metres away from him.

"Hoshi-chan, move!" Deku tried to dash towards her but the final punch had sapped away all his power and now, his legs clattered uselessly to the ground. The blue-haired girl, however, was unable to move due to fear and remained rooted to her spot.

"HOSHI-CHAN!"

"OVER HERE, YOU UGLY CROW!"

Two sharp cards of thin steel cut Ren's wings deep enough to draw blood. But despite screeching in pain, it did not stop its flight.

Until a joke reached its ears.

"Why did the crow cross the road?"

Ren stopped mid-flight in uncontrollable curiosity, metres away from a shaking Hoshi. And right then, two boys jumped into the fray; the shorter one staring at him with cruel mirth dancing in his eyes.

"Because it was trying to stalk its crush, the chicken!"

"Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa!" And the black bird fell laughing on the ground, clutching its stomach at the stupidity of the poor joke.

"Now, Aizawa!" Jigoku yelled as he protectively wrapped the shaken Hoshi in his arms and mustering all of his strength, Koji grabbed the screeching bird by a leg and hurled it into the air.

"Stalking is a bad habit, Crow-kun!" He waved after it, grinning away. "So my friend Inori is going to teach you a lesson about it!"

Ren, finally out of his laughing stupor, squawked in fury – before powerful claws wrapped around him and squeezed tight, forcing all breath out of him. It turned its head back . . . only for its gaze to meet brutally cold slits of gunmetal.

Which glimmered with the urge to kill him.

" **DIE**."

Inori ripped out his feathers and flakes of skin and the bird screeched out in pain, tears forcing out of its eyes. She grabbed it again before it could fall to the ground and spun it around by its neck, saliva dribbling down its beak. Then, without warning, she let go and the bird plummeted towards land, bleeding wings wounded and unable to flap.

' _No . . .'_ Ren shut his eyes, transforming back into his naked, bloody human form. _'Not now! Father! Save me, father!'_

"FATHEEEERRRRR!"

"I'm afraid we've lost your father, dear boy.~"

"Huh?"

The woman that smiled at him in mid-air had sharp, beautiful white teeth and strong arms that gently grabbed his bruised body. Inori, who'd been darting towards him to completely break Ren, saw a tall lady with a white fedora appear out of nowhere and grab hold of him-

-Before both had disappeared from sight.

She stared at the empty spot they'd been in, unable to blink due to shock. "What . . . just . . .?"

Deku, who'd been watching everything, slowly raised himself up. His eyes were glimmering.

"We _finally_ found her."

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Pinky: *passes out, exhausted* It's over. The Hoshi and Graviton arc . . . it's finally over.**

 **Hoshi: *applauds* Yayyyyyy! Good job, Pinky-chi~!**

 **Graviton: *begrudgingly applauds* I'd have liked it more if I'd won and taken back my family.**

 **Inori: . . . Pinky, why is psycho dad here?**

 **Pinky: Well, well, well, Inori! That's because this is the comedy section and we welcome everyone, whether they be Hero, Villain or normal citizens!**

 **Inori: Then, Ren-**

 **Pinky, Hoshi and Graviton: We don't talk about him here.**


	23. Ch 22 - Consequences

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 22 – Consequences**

 **(16** **th** **May, Monday, 02:37 a.m. - ?)**

The rancid stench of raw flesh hit his nostrils as he regained consciousness, forcing his eyes wide open.

"Where am-Guh!" But when he tried to raise himself, cold metal rammed against his throat and racked his dry gullet with saliva-inducing coughs. Taking in deep breaths of the stinking, humid air, he moved his limbs and realised that the same metal had strapped his wrists and ankles to the floor. Further movements also found that a metal belt had been clamped over his waist.

"What the . . ."

The ceiling above him was a pale grey and as he looked around, Ren realised he was in a normal room, found in any mediocre apartment. Two windows to the side showcased a dark night sky, sparse furniture consisted of a low wooden table with two chairs, a wooden cupboard stood towards where his feet stretched out and other such run of the mill knickknacks filled the room. The only light in the room was a dim strobe directly above his head while a closed door lay to his left.

As he lay panicking but unable to even freely move, recent memories slowly began to return to the young man.

His father's capture and the destruction of his only family while he was beaten up brutally by the UA students. Not to forget Hoshi, that ungrateful, twisted, **sick little bitch** -

' _ **I need to get out. I need to get out and kill that twat.'**_

"Guh! LET ME GO! UNCHAIN ME!" He screamed as loudly as his rasped voice would allow, struggling against the binds. But when the metal belt stung into his open wounds, he cried out in pain, realising that his body was completely naked.

Footsteps rushed in as the door quickly opened, brighter light flooding in from outside.

"I told you to stay on guard, didn't I, woman?!"

"Hehhhhhhhhh? But I was hungry! I just went to get a snack!~"

The stink was now overpowering and Ren forced his nostrils shut, gulping in large swathes of air through his gulping mouth. His lips were dry and his throat ached for a drop of water – but instead of any relief, long arms quickly bound a metal clasp over his lips.

"Stop screaming, kid. You're making my head hurt." Ren glared hatefully at the middle-aged, well-suited man above him as he tightened the clasp and stretched it painfully against the lower half of his face. He tried to move his head but the woman's skinny arms were much more powerful than they looked and he found himself unable to resist as they held his head down.

"Phew, youngsters are a real handful," the unnamed man wiped off the sweat on his forehead and Ren noticed how strange his eyes were – a deep shade of crimson with concentric black-lined rings that spread over his pupils and into his irises.

"But you know, teenagers and young adults have the best meat! Not too hard, not too tender . . . . just the perfect consistency between texture and freshness! Huaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

When sticky droplets dripped on his cheek, Ren turned his horrified gaze to the woman; the same woman who'd saved him from the Tetsuya beast's assault. And he had to bite back a terrified scream when he realised just where the horrible stench was emanating from.

As her sharp canines gnashed against tender skin and soft, raw flesh, the female drooled from the corners of her mouth. Her blood-stained hand roved over the gagged and quivering male's naked form. "Such soft, smooth skin and- ooh!" She poked at his flat lower stomach, long nails raking over his genitals and pinching flesh between them. Ren tried to shrink away from her but the movement only hurt his wounds, tears sliding out the corners of his eyes at the pain and fear.

' _What . . . what is she . . .?!'_

The woman smiled kindly at him, pale eyes staring lovingly into his own before she moved her face to the deep cuts on his shoulder, inhaling the stench of his untreated gash. Her tongue had only pricked out a little before she was pulled away by the man, who shook his head at her. "You're not allowed to snack on him, Gluttony," his voice was tinged with exasperation. "We _talked_ aboutthat."

Heartbreak settled on her face before she turned her attention back to the slim fingers she'd been eating. Ones freshly procured from a young girl whose pink, manicured nails were the only things visible amidst the bloody mess.

Ren killed his rising scream in his mouth, heart thundering dangerously. Whoever this cannibalistic criminal was, he was not going to show any fear in front of her.

Even though he was beyond terrified.

The middle-aged man scratched his head and stifled a yawn before turning sleepy eyes towards 'Gluttony'. "Get him from the kitchen, woman," he muttered, looking about ready to pass out. "If he really is who he says he is, this is the perfect opportunity to test things out."

Finishing a finger and dropping the gnawed bones in a plastic bag tied around her waist, she nodded before skipping out. Ren snapped his frightened eyes from her to the man and flinched when their gazes met.

"You know," the male commented, taking on a wise tone as he loosened his tie, "If you're prepared to commit murder, you should be prepared to die as well." The bound youngster began screaming and thrashing about violently – but all his efforts were for naught against the binds on his body. The pain and his bleeding wounds soon forced him to stop.

"Alright now . . . Untouchable-san, was it?~" Gluttony skipped cheerfully as she re-entered the room, a languid pair of footsteps following after her. "We have a perfect specimen out for you so please feel free to demonstrate your Quirk!"

"I told you, Gluttony-san, that's only what the public- Oh." Through bleared eyes and under dim lights, Ren could only make out the faint visage of a tall, lanky new entrant who stood staring down upon him. "Now this . . . looks quite interesting."

He may not have been able to see his face but that name was painfully familiar.

' _No . . . no, no, NO . . . he can't be . . . he can't . . .'_ Ren began struggling again but the strength had been drained out from him and his movements now resembled pitiful flopping. Just like a small fish plunged out of water, thrashing about on a cold pavement as it headed quickly towards death.

The new arrival turned his face towards the suited man, who was in the process of calmly lighting a cigarette. "Doumoto-san . . . it's really okay to use my Quirk on him?" Ren tried to violently shake his head but the metal clasp did not allow him to even fully turn it to the side.

Doumoto took a long drag before replying, "Please go ahead. For, after all, we don't know if you're the real Untouchable or not." Ren screamed as loud as he could, hoping someone would come save him from the nightmare but his voice was almost completely muffled, only letting strangled screeches escape. "But _don't_ kill him . . . Dr. xxxxxxxx has some high hopes for him."

' _Wh-What are they doing?! What do they mean?!'_ He could only stare with complete horror as the tall male proceeded to slice open his palm with a small razor, silently letting his blood drip down to the floor.

' _No, NONONONONONONO ANYTHINGBUTTHAT . . . I DON'T WANNA DIE LIKE THIS . . . NONONONONONONONO . . . FATHER, KIRISAKI, SAVE ME! SAVE ME!'_

But when the man known as Untouchable let his blood drops fall on Ren's outstretched left arm, the dark-haired male's heart momentarily stopped beating.

' _. . . I'm sorry. Please . . . someone . . . save me.'_

"It's a shame I can't use his whole body," the male murmured, emerald eyes shining with suppressed glee. "Oh well . . . it's been a long time since I've practiced some self-control." Ren watched, eyes almost popping out, as the blood droplets immediately soaked into his pale skin.

' _. . . Save me. Ple-'_

When his left arm exploded into a mass of fleshy splinters and erupted blood, Ren let out a loud, hollow scream that seemed to stretch on for minutes and minutes. Untouchable sighed as he wiped off some of the meat and blood clinging to his jeans and T-shirt while Gluttony yelled out in glee and immediately began lapping up everything she could from the floor.

It took some time before Ren's eyes finally rolled white as he passed out from the pain. Doumoto removed his fingers from his ears and stepping forward, kicked the eating Gluttony. "Stop that and go and immediately contact the Doctor." She turned to him with enraged eyes but, nonetheless, wiped her bloody mouth and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Sighing at the antics he had to deal with everyday, Doumoto rushed towards the severely wounded boy and unclasped his binds and gags, pressing a thick cloth against the remaining stump of his left shoulder.

"So . . .," he only half-turned back to the willowy male, all his sleep having disappeared. "Do you believe me now?" The man fetched out a white sheet from his pocket and flapped it around. "My application will be accepted now, right?"

Doumoto overturned the cloth and pressed his hand into the stump even as his other hand pumped the boy's chest. The breathing was faint but it was still there.

"Yes, I have now seen that your Blood Balloon is real."

He fully turned around, crimson eyes glinting as a narrow smile spread over his face. "Welcome to the Resurrected Villains' League, Untouchable-san."

* * *

 **(16** **th** **May, Monday, 9:35 a.m. – Musutafu General Hospital)**

 _THWACK._

It wasn't the slap that hurt – her mother's hands were soft and tender due to regular care constituting of hand lotions and baby oil. But the humiliation of being hit in front of her classmates and other people caused Inori's cheeks to darken.

"Ma'am, we cannot allow you to hit a patient." The nurse who attended to the dark-haired teen was young but firm and her eyes did not shy away even when Mizore struck them with a nasty glare. Inori, her head turned down, glanced over to the others and noted that all of them – Jigoku, Yasu, Reiko, Kasai, Koji and Haruka – were staring at the scene with shocked gazes.

The brunette bit back a snarl and pulled out a licence from the pocket of her androgynous white suit. The nurse took it in her slim fingers and slowly looked over it, eyes slightly narrowing.

 _ **Name: Tetsuya Mizore**_

 _ **Affiliation: Hero Public Safety Commission**_

 _ **Position: Executive Head**_

"On behalf of the Commission, I wish to speak privately to all the students." The woman contemptuously stated, gazing down at the petite nurse as she took her licence back.

The young woman bowed respectfully. "As you wish, Tetsuya-san." But before proceeding to walk out of the room, she stated, "Although, I should remind you, that no one in this country has the authority to initiate any act of violence on wounded patients. Have a good day." And, proudly, the woman exited.

Jigoku suppressed the urge to whistle. _'Cute AND confident. I wonder if I can get her name later?'_

But a cold glare immediately wiped off any trace of a smirk from his face.

"Are all of you _aware_ of what you've done?" It would've been apparent to even a blind person that Mizore was struggling greatly in keeping a level of composure in her words. Turning her furious gaze to each shame-faced teenager, she quietly seethed, "Wilfully going into battle despite knowing the gravity of the situation, engaging Villains despite having no professional guidance, permission or a provisional licence and risking not only your lives but also that of your friend and the Heroes who got injured while trying to protect you!"

Everyone winced at the last sentence. Yasu was only glad that Kenio and Hoshi weren't there with them – those two would've been undoubtedly the most affected. But his eyes then shifted to Reiko and Kasai and he noticed they were on the verge of tears.

Mizore stalked around in the room, raking in a deep breath to keep a lid on her rising temper. "Do you all even _understand_ the danger of the situation you'd plunged yourselves into? Do you?!" She stopped tersely and swivelled around, staring at them accusingly. "Do you realise that if not for the quick-thinking of your classmate and the speedy rescue of the Heroes and police force, all of you would've lost your lives?!" No one could say a word against her, only silently hanging their heads down in embarrassment as they stared at the white bed sheets. "Did you all really think, even for a moment, that a group of high school students would be able to take on a gang of professional Villains?! Take on Graviton and the Fatal Four?!"

But even against her smouldering glare, Koji perked up, "Oh, but that we did, aunt Mizore! Beat them up black, blue and every which wa-"

"Koji." Her voice had dropped to a glacial temperature and the vicious frigidity of her words caused the freckled boy to clasp his mouth shut. "I do not wish to hear _a single word_ from _anyone_ here, you included." The boy wilted and shuddered as she added, "You can talk about your exploits to your father as soon as I'm done. He must be waiting outside right now, along with everyone else's guardians."

The colour drained from every face except Haruka and Inori's.

"Which is why, I will comment nothing more about how foolish and careless it was to launch such a life-risking rescue mission on your own. Instead, there is something very important I must explain to all of you." Leaning against the closed door, a pensive look settled on Mizore's face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "For your actions, the suitable punishment would be expulsion from UA and a permanent ban on any Hero licence for any of you." Reiko, Kasai, Jigoku and Yasu's eyes flew wide open and their mouths opened in silent screams. "And a juvenile prison sentence for Inori and Itou Haruka for criminal brutality." The raven-head quietly glowered at the sparkling clean floor while Haruka clenched his metallic fists under the covers.

"N-No . . . I . . ." Reiko shook as she tightly gripped her bed sheets, tears spilling out, "It can't be . . . I-I . . . no-"

"However." Mizore put heavy emphasis on the word and uncrossed her arms. "Being an executive head of the public safety commission, I have somehow been able to convince the executive board that the mysterious slip of paper you received had a threat written on it that blackmailed you to come into the Chukakabe slums in return for Fujita Hoshi's life." The heads perked up but the brunette continued speaking, "You had also been asked to quickly move to the location without informing anyone otherwise Fujita Hoshi would be killed; so all of you obeyed in order for her life to be spared."

Reiko blurted, "But that's not-!"

" _BUT_ ," Mizore cruelly cut in, glaring at the startled blonde to keep shut, "Your friend Kita Kagami managed to sneak off and ask the Pro Heroes and the police for help. After that, it is all as you know; the message on the paper disappeared but the rescue squad was able to find your location with some extra assistance and subdue Graviton." Blowing on her nails, she spoke in a slow and calm voice, "I hope I've got all your facts down correct? I am only confirming, after all, everything that happened so there are no blocks in your memory in case you are summoned for a questioning by the commission."

As the true meaning of her words finally sunk in, a cold sweat broke on Kasai's nape. _'She's telling us . . . to lie.'_

Quickly glancing at her wristwatch, Mizore straightened and coldly asserted, "That is all I had to say. It is not my job to mete out any punishment; that will be looked after by your school and your families." Half of them shrank into their covers, unable to take anymore of the verbal assault. "The final thing I want to state is that do not forget whatever happened and remember that next time, there will be no such second chance."

Before any of them could gather their wits and thank her, Tetsuya Mizore had left the room.

For more than a few minutes, there was complete and utter silence in the large hospital room. Everyone's beds were settled at a distance from each other with individual sets of machines attached to them and the white curtains that separated their beds were drawn open. Inori and Haruka, however, quickly closed the drapes and settled down, the former burying herself under the sheets while the latter closed his eyes and drifted off deep into his thoughts.

It was Yasu's baritone that broke through the tense silence. "We ought to thank Mizore-san for her assistance. She's gone out of her way to help us."

Inori's fingers clenched at his words. "You don't need to do that," she hissed, voice colder than she wanted. "She just doesn't want our names to be sullied because I'm _her_ daughter and you're my classmates."

"Maybe so," Yasu coolly argued back, "But that doesn't change the fact that without what she did, our paths to being Heroes would be cut off forever."

A breathless choked welled up in Kasai, Reiko and Haruka's chests at the mere thought of it.

Inori was about to draw back the curtains to argue but the door opened and familiar footsteps strode in.

"The corruption of foolishness, over-confidence and carelessness seems to have rusted away the very core of your souls."

Tokoyami Fumikage closed the door after him, face as unreadable as ever.

"S-Sensei . . ." Kasai drew away his covers to get up but was stopped short by a raised hand from the man. He pulled the covers over him and averted his flushed face.

"In order to speak to all of you, I have had to miss two classes today. Classes which could've been spent teaching important lessons instead of admonishing rebellious students." Each word only further increased the guilt the teens felt. "You all fail to realise how much worry you've caused to others; to your family, to your teachers at UA and to your classmates. You gambled your own lives in a selfish decision that could've cost much more than the minor injuries you received."

' _. . . My fault . . .'_ Inori clenched her fists, shame and guilt overcoming her with hefty humiliation. _'Everything . . . is my fault.'_

"However, this time, we shall count it as the first mistake of naïve Heroes-in-training who did not know better. Such incidents call for expulsion from any Hero school but you should be grateful to know that Principal Nezu has decided that all of you shall be suspended for only two weeks."

' _T-Two weeks?!'_ Everyone looked up in shock at the statement, unable to contain their fear anymore. Two weeks may not seem like a long time on paper but each student was well aware how many important lessons it would cost them.

"There is no need to make such expressions of trauma. As I've stated, a two week suspension is not nearly enough punishment for your activities." They gulped at the cold look in Tsukuyomi's eyes. "Reporting to school before 31st of May will see you unceremoniously have the UA gates be closed to your presence. That is all I had to say."

Reiko took in a deep breath to quiet down her tears as Tokoyami whipped his cape and turned around, a quiet Dark Shadow emerging out to open the door for him. As the students processed the terrible news with heavy hearts, Tsukuyomi glanced at them one final time before pausing outside. He had been instructed not to but there were some parting words his heart refused to give up on.

"But on the other hand," Inori and everyone else looked up slowly at their teacher's back, "I'm glad you all are safe. And even Deku-sensei agrees . . . the courage and the skills you showcased were reminiscent of what a Hero would do."

As he shut the door behind him and walked out, a silent tear rolled down Kasai's cheek.

There was silence for some time as the sound of Tsukuyomi's footsteps faded away. And then, wiping at her tears, Reiko asked hoarsely, "That means . . . we . . . can still become Heroes, right?"

Yasu was the one who replied to her question, voice contemplative. "Yes . . . I'm sure it does."

Inori closed her eyes and let her mind drift off into restless sleep.

* * *

 _In the end, despite everything we had to go through, the rescue mission was a success._

 _Fujita Hoshi was safe once again and her father Fujita Danuja, a.k.a Musutafu's most powerful mobster Graviton, was captured successfully. Unlike three years ago, most of his mob were also put behind bars – except for Kataya Ren, the Beast, who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. A search mission for him was immediately launched but very few had hopes of it being successful._

 _Besides, there were other things to worry about._

 _Midoriya Izuku, a.k.a Deku, the Symbol of Peace was left in an almost immovable state by the mysterious bullet that had penetrated into his skin. He was immediately rushed to the hospital along with us students and the Pro Heroes Anima, Earphone Jack and Tentacole. Although most of us had thankfully received minor injuries, Nakamura Kenio had completely passed out from Quirk exhaustion and, after my adrenaline wore off, I followed suit not long after._

 _I do not remember what happened after my passing out in the ambulance except for what Hanransha informed me of afterwards. Once we reached the Musutafu General Hospital, Fujita was reunited with her mother while I, Kenio and Deku were rushed to emergency rooms. The Hero Public Safety Commission was to launch an investigation on us but thanks to the cooperation of the Heroes, the police force and Kita and the others, we were saved from any harsh punishment. Begrudgingly, I have to admit that my mother helped a lot in that case._

 _We were also informed that the mysterious slip of paper with Kita had lost all its instructions by the time he reached the police station - both its faces were blanka nd completely clean, bereft of any sort of writing. It was only through her vague memory and research by Midoriya Ochako, a.k.a Uravity, that Deku and the others were able to find us. That building had been the same place where Graviton's mob had first started out their forage into the underworld._

 _Everything was resolved without any casualties. Both Fujita and her mother separated from Graviton on relatively peaceful terms – his sentence was considerably lengthened for escaping from Tartarus, causing havoc and being a yandere father. However, because of his cooperation in informing about the occupants of the mysterious helicopter and how he'd escaped from jail, he was spared the worst of the prison cells._

 _But there was one unfortunate thing._

 _Even Graviton did not know the identity of the mysterious woman who'd helped Kataya Ren disappear._

* * *

 **Student Name: Kasai Hitori**

 **Quirk: Death Breath**

 **Death Breath causes a mutation which results in Kasai always exhaling a hazy, pink gas which is highly flammable and poisonous when inhaled.**

 **P.S: Kasai is afraid of large flames which are not created by him.**

* * *

 **(17** **th** **May, Tuesday, 8:54 a.m. – UA)**

"Good morning . . . everyone."

Silent tears rolled out of Suzuran's eyes as she stared at a smiling Hoshi standing near the doorway, her limbs frozen stiff. And then, without realising it, her legs were moving on their own and running towards her blue-haired friend. It wasn't long before she had thrown herself at her, wrapping thin arms around her precious friend.

"I'm . . . so glad . . . so glad . . .," Suzuran choked, unsuccessfully trying to keep the tears out as they spilled over her cheeks, wetting Hoshi's uniform. But the taller girl only smiled warmly and wrapped an arm over her drooping spider legs, using the other to rub the back of her head.

"Yosh, yosh, it's okay, Suzu-chi.~" She whispered comfortingly, unable to hold back her own tears at Suzuran's soft sobbing. "You're okay . . . I'm okay . . . Everything's fine now.~"

The scant students who'd been shocked at Hoshi's unpredictable arrival quickly jumped out of their seats and rushed towards the duo, relief flooding their faces.

"Fujita-san! Are you alright?! Is it okay for you to be at school?!"

"Hoshi-chi, Hoshi-chi, we were so worried, ne~! We really missed you!"

"Fujita! You're back! Thank Real Steel, you're back!"

"Fujita-san, how are you?!"

"We're relieved."

Hoshi tried to wipe away her tears and flash her brightest smile as Aisen, Akaname, Kagami, Mashiro, Habiki and Jobu gathered around her, pulling her into hugs and patting her head. But even as Suzuran pulled away, furiously rubbing at her eyes, the amber-eyed girl ended up breaking down, overwhelmed by all the warmth she was surrounded with.

They'd been worried, they'd been praying for her safety and they were glad to see her back.

' _I'm so glad . . . I didn't lose my memories of all these precious people in my life.'_

The sound of the class door opening stilled everyone's movements.

". . . Fujita-san?"

Hoshi looked up at the source of the familiar voice through bleary eyes; and, before she knew it, she was pulled into a rose-scented hug.

"I'm so glad . . . you're okay." It was no one else but Asuna, wrapping her shorter friend in a tight, protective gaze. "I'm sorry . . . for not being there to protect you both." And, for some reason, being pressed into her soft chest broke down all the dams Hoshi had erected to hide her vulnerability and she burst into tears, hugging Asuna as she loudly cried.

"I'm so glad they've reunited." Habiki patted Aisen as the blond furiously wiped away his own tears at the scene, sniffling.

Ryo slowly peeked over the manga he was reading and stared at the reunion in front of the class, unwilling to show anyone the soft look on his face. Fuma was meticulously working on some notes, not glancing at his classmates even sat rigidly in her seat, uncomfortable as she stared out of the window.

' _Weak.'_ The lamia gritted her teeth in irritation, making sure to keep the tight scowl on her face away from anyone's view. _'How pathetically weak they all are. And they wish to be Heroes?'_

' _If the future's strongest Heroes are going to be like this . . . Isn't it better to be a Villain?'_

"I'm not letting you both out of my sight ever again," Asuna stated, tightly gripping Hoshi's shoulders as she gently pushed her away; her magenta eyes were burning as they stared at her petite friends. "I promise, from now on, I'm going to protect you both with everything I have."

"Hey, Fujita." Aisen's meek voice caused the sapphire-haired girl to turn towards him – but the nervous look on his face frightened her a little. "Do you know when Nakamura and the others will be returning? We couldn't contact them yesterday and none of the teachers would tell us anything."

Hoshi was only then flooded with the realisation that except her, none of the others were in class. Not even Haruka.

As she looked around, she breathlessly whispered, "But . . . they were fine-"

"You will not be seeing them for the next two weeks."

Everyone was startled out of the bittersweet moment as Tsukuyomi entered the classroom, sliding the door shut behind him.

"Sensei!" Aisen's lavender eyes were wide with fright. "Wh-What do you mean?!" But some of the smarter students had already figured out the implication behind the blunt words.

"Engagement in direct combat, ignoring societal rules, willing pursuit despite lack of any professional licence and criminal brutality." Tsukuyomi uttered each broken rule with increasing cold precision, the edge in his voice quietening his students. "The rebels have broken more than enough rules."

Before Asuna could stop her, Hoshi was already moving. "Sensei, please!" The girl bowed as low as she could, standing directly in front of Tokoyami with the tips of her curls almost touching the floor. "They . . . they did it for-!"

"Even if they did it to save you, Fujita-san, the fact that they broke rules does not change."

Each and every head in the room turned towards Fuma at his harsh words – having kept away his pencil, he was staring severely at Hoshi. "And rule-breakers must be punished, whether they are Heroes or Hero students. A two week suspension for them is the best they could have."

"Hey, what's your problem, Kanashimi?!" Jobu took an offended stance in front of the shocked girl, glaring at the jade-haired student. Kazumi hid the amused smirk on her face with a lifted hand. "Have you never heard of anything called friendship?!"

 _( "I WILL make you smile, Fuma-chan!"_

 _A mischievous grin stretched across freckled, chubby cheeks. )_

Fuma momentarily closed his eyes to shake away the unwanted memories before turning their unflinching gaze to Jobu.

"If what you describe as 'friendship' entails risking the life of others and going against the natural rules of society, then its existence is unnecessary." Hoshi clenched her fists at those words, staring down at her feet in realisation.

' _Isn't what Kanashimi-san saying . . . the truth? Because, after all . . ._

 _. . . They were almost killed because of me.'_

"We're Heroes in training at UA – the country's best school and groomed to carry the future on our shoulders and take it to the very apex." Fuma stood up, challenging Jobu's grinding teeth and the defiant expressions of some of his classmates. "Only a month has passed and half of our class completely disregards rules about society and engages in combat with dangerous Villains, ignorant of the possible danger it entailed." His eyes were beginning to gleam a luminous olive. "Do you understand the fact, Jobu-san, that one mistake could've cost each one of them their very lives?"

But the silver-haired boy was not one to give in so easily. "That may be so but that doesn't change the fact that they succeeded in saving Fujita!" The mentioned girl gripped the hem of her skirt, unnoticeably trembling at the opposite possibility. " _That_ is the friendship I'm talking about! Does that mean nothing to you?!"

Fuma took a few steps forward calmly but for some reason, the act looked threatening in itself. "You are forgetting that is because Deku-sensei, the other Pro Heroes and the police force reached the scene on time. But without them, well . . . it would've been a completely different story."

Hoshi froze at the brutal images that flashed through her mind as both Suzuran and Asuna gripped each of her wrists.

Before Jobu could snarl back, however, Akaname pushed out an arm in front of his chest.

"No matter how important the topic is, arguing in front of a teacher shows disrespect towards them!" He barked out, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Please try to restrain yourselves until you are out of the academic building!"

Jobu clicked his tongue and stepped back, glaring heatedly at the apathetic Fuma. But Akaname wasn't done.

"And . . . Kanashimi-san!" The taller male turned an indifferent expression towards him which completely contrasting against the passionate furrow of Akaname's eyebrows. "I completely agree with you that what Tetsuya-san and the others did was wrong but we also cannot agree the fact that the decision behind it was noble! They may have risked their lives and careers but they did to save a precious friend!"

Hoshi forced her tears back, unwilling to show weakness in front of everyone.

"And that's why you're our mother, Aka-chi!~" Mashiro cheered, spreading his arms.

Fuma quirked an eyebrow, ignoring the looks of anger on the faces of his other classmates as he gazed at Akaname. _'Noble?'_

"So I request you to not pursue the matter any further!" He bowed, going almost as low as Hoshi had earlier. "Please!"

By the time he'd raised himself up, there was complete silence. Everyone else was staring at him with quiet, impressed gazes.

Tsukuyomi was the first to speak.

"Shimizu . . . I shall like to have a detailed discussion with you after class."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **(17** **th** **May, Tuesday, 12:27 p.m. – UA)**

"-And that is how I ended up becoming class president!" As Akaname spoke into the phone, he was unsure whether he should be elated or depressed. But when he heard low chuckling come from the other end of the phone, he growled, "Hanransha-san, this isn't funny!"

There was the soft clang of utensils from the other end as Yasu husked, "You're right. It isn't funny . . . it's actually pretty effin' hilarious." But before Akaname could whine or chew his ear off, he quickly added in a softer tone, "Is Fujita-san okay?"

Using the remaining time of their lunch break, the newly elected class president had decided to try and contact their missing classmates along with Aisen. Inori and Haruka did not pick up their phones but thankfully, Yasu had.

"She broke down a little but everything's fine now," he replied, smiling underneath his surgical mask. "I was really happy to see Nishiya-san patch things up with her and Asagumo-san."

As wood clanged against steel, Yasu breathed in relief. "That's good to know."

After a tepid pause, Akaname sighed, "You promised to take care of the others." The ash blond on the other end was silent for a good minute.

"I did . . . but there were some things we _had_ to do, Shimizu-san." The bespectacled boy pursed his lips at the calm baritone, wanting to spit out several words but deciding to save them for when he would actually meet the tall boy.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the classroom, Aisen had finally got through to Kenio's number.

As the receiver picked up, he excitedly chirped, "Nakamura?! Is that you?! Oh, thank goodness! I thought you wouldn't pick up today as well!"

But when the blond paused to let Kenio reply, the voice that spoke on the other end was that of a mature woman.

"I'm sorry but this is Ekara, Kenio's aunt." Aisen's pep immediately dissipated into hollowness. "Kenio is too unwell to take the call."

"I-I see!" Trying to regain his composure, he replied, "I'm so sorry to disturb you, Ms. Ekara! Please tell Kenio that all of his classmates are wishing for his speedy recovery!"

"I definitely will." There was a slight hint of exhaustion in her voice. "But may I know who is speaking?"

"A-Ah, I'm sorry! I'm Yuki Aisen, one of Nakamura's friends!" The blond flushed, wondering how he could've forgotten to introduce himself. "Th-Thank you so much!"

Softly chuckling, the woman spoke, "No worries, Yuki-kun. It's all good. Thank you for calling. Once Kenio wakes up, I'm sure he'll be happy to know his friends had called."

"Yes! Thank you very much!" he exclaimed and soon after, the call was terminated. Staring at the screen, however, it did not take long for his cheer to drop.

"Nakamura . . . I hope you'll be better soon . . ."

. . . . . . . . .

Ekara stared at the black cell phone screen, a small smile on her face.

"Yuki-kun seems like a really nice kid, you know?" she loudly commented, turning towards Kenio's closed bedroom door. "He told me they're all worried about you." But even as she waited, there continued to be no reply.

Pursing her lips, Ekara placed the phone on the table as she collected her things to go off to school. But there were a lot of things that were weighing on her mind.

' _Kenio, if you're gonna suffer so much . . ._

 _Is it alright for you to stay in UA?'_

* * *

 **(17** **th** **May, Tuesday, 3:41 p.m. – Maihana Neighbourhood)**

"And thanks to the combined efforts of Deku, Earphone Jack, Tentacole, Anima, the police force and other Pro Heroes, the dangerous Villain Graviton and his mob were successfully captured! Graviton, who had escaped the new experimental block of Tartarus earlier this May, had been arrested by Deku's wife Uravity in a high-end mob raid three years ago. However, he had been the only lead member to be arrested at that time while the Fatal Four, along with the majority of his gang, had eluded the Heroes and the police and gone into hiding. But during yesterday's incident-"

Hoshi was so busy staring at the red-lipped news reader on the advertising television that she almost unconsciously walked right into the middle of the road. She only realised that when she heard furious honking from her left, swivelling to the side with frightened eyes as a large truck sped towards her.

 _WOOSH._

"Oi, you stupid kid! Are you tryna get yourself killed?!" the bald driver shot his head out as he drove by the shaken blue-haired girl, glaring at the tall boy who had his arms wrapped around her shoulder. Turning back to the steering wheel, he grumbled, "Seriously, kids nowadays. First, that ginger boy last month and now this child . . ."

Hoshi stared numbly at her cold feet before she felt strong arms try to stabilise her. "Really, Fujita-san, you ought to be more careful."

When she looked up, the sapphire-haired teen realised she was staring at her classmate Jigoku, whose usual devil-may-care smirk had been replaced by a worried frown. "Ah, sorry about that!~" She pulled away from him and smiled, gripping her school satchel tightly – had he noticed her staring at the gigantic TV? "I just lost my head in the clouds for a bit!~"

Sighing, Jigoku scratched the back of his head. "I wish you wouldn't do that in the middle of the road, though." Hoshi noticed that he was in his casual clothes, wearing ripped black jeans and a turquoise, low V-neck. She was about to ask him if he'd been skipping school but then remembered what Tsukuyomi-sensei had said.

' _They're all suspended . . . because they tried to save me.'_

"Fujita-chan? Hello? Hello?" Jigoku waved his hand in front of her and she immediately snapped away from her thoughts, grinning sheepishly. Smiling exasperatedly, he said, "Looks like your head is too high up in the clouds today. You're heading back home from school, right?" When she nodded, he smirked and bowed. "Allow me to escort you home for today, then."

On fully realising what he meant, Hoshi waved her hands back and forth and replied, "Oh, no, Tejina-kun! It's really okay! And . . . besides . . ." she adjusted her bag, smiling sadly, "I've already bothered you enough."

His eyes slightly widened at her statement but quickly, he erased that expression and adopted his most charming smile. "Oh, no, Fujita-chan, you can't do that." Hoshi blinked at him in confusion and he winked at her. "Robbing me off the company of a pretty girl is pretty cruel, don't you think?"

A grateful smile spread across her face.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You know, you don't need to blame yourself for everything that's happened. It's not your fault."

The curly-haired duo walked side-by-side on the busy roads, crossing a large street as they made their way towards a quieter neighbourhood. Hoshi, however, was finding it hard to follow his advice. "But because I got kidnapped . . . you, Hitori-kun, Tetsuya-san and everyone . . ." Jigoku quietly watched her slightly trembling fingers – she was so, so small, barely looking like a high school student. "And Deku-sensei too . . . what happened to him . . ."

There was comfortable silence for some time before the crimson-eyed boy decided to speak up.

"I am a little worried about him too; mainly because we were all asked to keep it a secret from everyone else." Jigoku trudged with his hands buried in his pockets, thinking deeply – only the ones conscious and present at the time were aware what the bullet had done to Deku. Even Yasu, Reiko and Kasai had been kept in the dark about it.

Hoshi's expression saddened even further, her amber eyes having lost their bright glow.

' _. . . It's getting unbearable to see her like this._

"Fujita-chan." He stopped short as they entered into Maihana neighbourhood – a quiet, family-occupied locality of primly kept apartments and pleasant middle-class people. She stopped and turned around to look at him, wondering what he wanted . He languidly walked towards her and smiled, slowly lifting a hand towards her face.

' _W-What?'_ Hoshi shut her eyes tight as his long fingers brushed against her left ear.

A low chuckle escaped Jigoku and he murmured, "You don't need to be so scared, Fujita-chan. I'm not going to do anything 'evil' to you."

When she opened her eyes, Hoshi was face-to-face with a beautiful pink rose whose tender petals wafted a fragrant scent that flushed her senses. She dumbly grasped it gingerly, staring at it, before turning to her grinning classmate with awe. "H-How did you do it, Tejina-kun?!"

Jigoku merely pressed a finger against his lips, winking at her. "A magician who tells his secrets is no magician."

The girl looked at the rose in her hands and back at the lavender-skinned boy, before turning to the rose again. As she inhaled it, its sweet scent made her face light up. "~It's so pretty and perfumed! You're amazing!~"

"Well," he sweeped a dramatically low bow, "Anything to see that adorable smile on your face."

"~Asu-chan told me you were only a woman-hunting, frivolous and carnally starved playboy and that I should stay away from you!~" Each adjective was a hot brick that hit Jigoku right across the face and the fact that Hoshi uttered them with a bright, innocent smile was like an additional iron had whacked him on the head. "~But you're also a really nice person, Tejina-kun~!"

"Ah, Nishiya-san thinks rather highly of me, huh?" he scratched the back of his head, realising that when the brunette had angrily glared at him once she wasn't being tsundere. "Well . . . anyway. Next time, when you're free, I'll show you even nicer magic. Sound good?"

Holding the rose in both hands, Hoshi showed off a bright grin. "~I'll be looking forward to it!~"

* * *

 **(18** **th** **May, Wednesday, 8:47 a.m. – Todoroki Household)**

"Ne, Mo-kun, isn't that Deku's car?"

"You're right, Sho-chan. That is indeed Deku's car."

"Shoko! Mori! Hurry down! You're both getting late for school!"

As their mother's voice carried up the stairs and into their spacious room, the fire-haired girl and the snow-haired boy jumped down from the ledge of the window they'd been positioned at. Grabbing their packed bags, they proceeded to rush down the stairs and jump into the long corridors.

Deku, who was seated on the Japanese wooden porch, noticed them as he took off his shoes. "Morning, Shoko and Mori!" The twins came running towards him, smiling broadly and latched onto each of his arms. Laughing, he asked, "How are you both?"

"Ne, Deku, Deku." Shoko smiled, nuzzling into him. "When will our little sibling pop out?"

"Yes, Deku, Deku." Mori continued, swinging on the freckled Hero's left bicep. "Tell him to hurry, please."

Chuckling, he placed both teens on the ground as they blinked up at him with their narrow, onyx eyes – so much like their mother's. "He or she will be here very soon, don't you worry." As they smiled broadly, he waved them off and advised, "Now, hurry up and leave for school! Your mother's waiting outside."

"Yes, Symbol of Peace," they chorused in perfect unison before slipping into their shoes and rushing outside, small hands intertwined. Deku watched them leave with a happy smile, dreaming of the day he'd see the same scene in his own house.

"You know, sometimes I think they like you more than me."

"You know that's not true, Shoto-kun." Deku turned around to face his dual-haired friend who stood leaning against the doorway, dressed in a loose grey yukata. Todoroki Shoto had grown into a taller and much more athletic male from his school days and his shoulder-length hair had been tied into a low ponytail. Deku noticed that for a man who always alternated between a clean-shaved look and light facial hair, he had decided to adopt the former for quite a while.

The men walked further inside the ornately decorated house where the ground floor had been styled in a traditional Japanese way and the first floor was much more European in design. Shoto's office was located in the last room on the ground floor, deep within the intertwining wooden corridors – and it was where both men sat down on the expensive tatami.

"How's your arm?" Deku flexed his bandaged right arm, only slightly wincing at the faint pain that throbbed underneath.

"Much, _much_ better," he replied, as his friend set some boiling water over a large black kettle for tea. "I can even use All for One now . . . although only up to thirty percent of its original power."

Stirring some matcha powder, Shoto commented, "That's still a lot for someone who was only able to barely move until two days ago." Deku nodded in reply, quietly watching steam bubble out of the kettle. "Did the doctors find out anything about what you were shot with?"

"Some kind of artificially created drug that targets and immobilises the person's very nervous system and, as a result, severely affects their Quirk as well." As Shoto poured the tea into small, earthen cups, Deku continued, "But, according to one of them, the drug they used on me wasn't properly 'refined.' So they said I should be back to full strength within a week or so."

Keeping the cups on the table, the one-eyed Hero muttered, "Not properly refined . . . so still in its experimental stage, huh?" The other one nodded, taking a sip of his tea and trying to keep his face straight at its immensely better taste. "Whoever has created this drug is someone with a lot of knowledge and a lot of facilities at their expense."

"And that's not all." Deku kept his cup on the table, staring at his friend with a grave expression. "The woman who disappeared with Kataya Ren . . . she's the same one we've been searching for."

Shoto's eye slowly widened.

"So she's . . .?"

"Yes. The same one from the Shiguna neighbourhood incident that happened in April."

Shoto opened his mouth to say something but the bell to their house rang at that very moment. Getting up, he tightened the sash of his yukata and muttered, "Looks like the others are here too."

Deku nodded, mouth set in a tight line. "It's good that they're early. There's a lot we need to discuss."

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Habiki: *listening to 'Jester' by DGK on YouTube and reading Askaroth's '** _ **Kazumi Dark Adventures'**_ *****

 **Pinky: *slams into the room* HABIKI! HABIKI! HABIKI!**

 **Habiki: *takes off his earphones and closes the fanfiction, sighing* Yes, Pinky?**

 **Pinky: IT'S OUT! IT'S OUT!**

 **Habiki: What's out?**

 **Pinky: THE FORM FOR THE VILLAINS IS OUT!**

 **Habiki: Oh, yes. You'd mentioned you needed around 6-7 Villains for the story right?**

 **Pinky: YES! COULD YOU INFORM THIS TO EVERYONE SINCE I'M TOO LAZY TO GO LOOK FOR ALL OF THEM?!**

 **Habiki: Okay, okay, calm down. You heard that too, readers. Whoever is interested in sending a Villain, please go to HotPinkMonster's profile and copy the form from there. The more brutal, the better. Deadline is 1** **st** **August and only the best 7 will be chosen.**

 **Pinky: ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT ASKAROTH'S SPIN OFF,** _ **KAZUMI DARK ADVENTURES,**_ **STARRING OUR FAN FAVOURITE LAMIA! THE LINK IS ON MY PROFI- *chokes due to screaming too much***

 **Habiki: :_) I wonder if you'll live long enough to complete this story . . .**


	24. Ch 23 - Tsukuyomi Punishes

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 23 – Tsukuyomi Punishes**

 **(19** **th** **May, Wednesday, 11:37 a.m. – South Musutafu)**

He wiped the sweat off his brow, ignored the killing pain in his knees and with a deep breath, dashed off.

The May sun was sweltering in its heat but all Haruka felt as he launched himself off from his run was a pleasant breeze cut across his skin, the ground below seeming farther and farther away. The soles of his bare feet glowered a burning crimson and as he stretched his hands, building the velocity for propulsion in his arms, the craters in his palms began glowing too. He gritted his teeth, dark spikes blown back, as he manoeuvred himself into a straight pathway, maintaining his balance with ease.

His target was up ahead – the shattered window of the half-ravaged building Graviton's mob had booked for themselves for the past one month. He stretched his legs as much as he could, kicking his ankles to increase speed but even then-

' _Not so fast. A bit more.'_

Haruka tightened his metallic fists and pushed his body forward as hard as he could, stretching his neck almost painfully to reach his goal. But as the wind around him slowly died down and the fuel in his craters was exhausted, he was falling, headed straight towards the hard ground in a spinning pathway.

The teen stiffened his body and tried to lift his chest above his lower bulk, determined to perform a successful landing. One thing he'd never been able to ever since he had begun practicing his Quirk. But he'd only succeeded in turning upside down before his body gave out from the strain of maintaining equilibrium and rotated sideways, out of his control. He flailed his limbs, trying to grab onto something for support but his fingers found only air.

And before long, the ground was right before him and Haruka fell face-forward, pummelling into the mud as his body became half-buried in the gravel. The white ruins in front of him were only a few hundred metres away, the yellow investigation tape around it having been removed the day before.

"You're gonna kill yourself some day, Itou!"

Without a single groan, Haruka pressed his palms into the dirt and raised his head, shaking the midnight locks to remove clinging clumps of dirt. Wiping the dust from his face, his dizzy vision finally settled on a familiar blonde classmate staring at him with wide orange eyes and an annoying grin.

' _. . . And my day is ruined.'_

"What are you doing here, Shimamura?" he grumbled, patting off the soil from his clothes as he raised himself up on a bruised knee. His body screamed in pain all over and burned from the shallow scratches on his skin but ignoring all of that, he stood up, rotating his shoulders to ease the cramps in them.

"Morning, Itou!" Reiko greeted, smiling cheerfully with her hands folded behind her back. He stared at her in shock for some time before turning around and walking away. As soon as the girl noticed this, she was overcome with annoyance. "Hey, it wouldn't kill you to start a conversation you know!"

Haruka stopped mid-step but refused to turn back and face her. "Why are you here?"

Scratching her head, Reiko muttered, "Well . . . we came to hang out!"

' _Wait . . . 'we'?'_

And just as Haruka swivelled around, he was greeted by a medley of familiar voices.

"Shimamura-san, I'm sure there's no train you have to catch."

"Reiko-chan, I'm tirrrreeeeddddd! My tires need some air!"

Haruka's mouth slightly popped ajar as the running figures of Yasu and Koji came into view. However, realising his expression would give the two jokesters more of a reason to make stupid puns at him, he tightly sealed his lips.

"Good morning, Itou-san." Yasu was the first one to reach him, his long legs skidding to a halt. Wiping the sweat off his brow and holding an aromatic basket in one hand, he deadpanned, "The heat today sure _drags you down_."

"Long time no see, Haru-kun!" Koji patted him on the shoulder, grinning like the idiot he was – even though they'd been together only day before yesterday. "It's pretty hot today, isn't it?! It sure _melts down your mettle_!"

Coldly shrugging off the friendly hand, Haruka levelled him with frosty eyes. "That's 'Itou' for you." _'Why the hell are you acting all chummy? And . . . who the hell is 'Haru-kun'?'_ His eyes waved over the equally stupid looking Reiko and Yasu who was staring at him with a thoughtful gaze. "Why are all of you in _my_ training place?" _'And you better not say you want to hang out.'_

"Ah, well, that . . ." The smile on the blonde's face was suspiciously awkward. Haruka did not like the direction this was going in.

"Before that." Yasu's voice snapped everyone's attention to him, especially to the delicious-smelling basket that dangled from his right arm. "Would you guys like some muffins? They're homemade."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I refuse."

"But why?!" Reiko jumped to her feet and let out a long whine, almost dropping the orange muffin she'd been holding as she glared at Haruka. "We're classmates, aren't we?! What's the problem?!"

He stared coolly at her before finishing the vanilla muffin in his hand and standing up to tower over her. "Just because we're classmates does not mean we have to train together. Besides . . . the three of you are only going to drag me down if we do." Although calm on the surface, Yasu bit into his dessert with an audible snapping of teeth while Koji looked as unbothered as ever, licking the cream from his fingers.

Before Reiko could retort, the tallest of the duo stated in his placid baritone, "That sounds plenty rich from someone who is unable to even control his Quirk properly." Haruka's fists balled tightly as a surge of anger passed through his mind – but he could not refute the valid point in the dark-skinned boy's words.

"Now, now, now.~" Koji dusted his hands to remove stray crumbs, smiling mischievously as he directed his singsong words to his stubborn classmate. "Haru-kun, I know you're afraid of ruining your cool image by hanging out with a hyper idiot, a naughty jokester and a straight-faced pun master but I tell you . . . you'll be missing out on a _loooootttt_ if you let go of this offer.~" Although the green-haired boy was the last person he would ever give his time of the day to, something sinister in his words pricked Haruka's ears.

"Did he . . . just call me an idiot?" Reiko slowly blinked in realisation, pointing a finger at herself. Yasu opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it.

Turning to fully face the smiling shorter boy, Haruka decided to give him one chance. "If you really want to train together with me . . . the reason has to be important enough to be convincing."

"Yes, yes, I know, kuudere-kun." The boy nodded wisely, hands folded behind his back. Suddenly leaning right into his face, Koji whispered, "Training with each other will allow us to share a deeper bond as classmates, wouldn't it? As well as . . .," his voice dropped into a sudden low and the smirk on his face seemed almost ominous, ". . . know each other's strengths and weaknesses . . . in-side-out."

The neon-eyed boy was beginning to feel both annoyed and unnerved. ". . . And so?"

Koji pulled away just as suddenly as he'd leaned, tilting his head as a sly smile spread over his lips. "And that would be very useful for the upcoming school event we're going to have!"

Realisation dawned on Haruka as he realised what the freckled boy was talking about.

An occasion he'd prepared for ever since he'd made his vow. A day in his life he'd been determined to prove his strength to everyone watching. An event he'd watched religiously every year since he'd been ten, always blown away by the sheer strength and talent he'd see.

"Mou, I really don't understand where this conversation is going!" Reiko cried, ruffling her hair in anguished confusion. Yasu sighed softly under his breath. _'She'll mature in time. Don't be a meanie, Yasu.'_

Koji snatched the words from Haruka's lips, eyes shining an eerie black.

"Don't you think training together will be really useful for the UA Sports Festival, Haru-kun?~"

* * *

 **(20** **th** **May, Thursday, 8:57 a.m. – Tetsuya Household)**

' _You . . . are standing on the edge._

 _The night sky is dark and cloudless and a cruelly cold breeze throws my curls into disarray as I wordlessly stare at the back of your figure. We are the only ones on the empty rooftop, high up on a skyscraper, and the rest of the world seems so far away, as if it's in a different plane of existence._

" _Ne, Inori?"_

 _You turn to me with a precious smile, so unusual on your dainty face. It is haunted and secretive and I . . . should have realised it then._

 _But instead, I ignore the pleading in your eyes._

" _Let's run away together."_

 _I say the worst thing anyone ever could._

 _. . . So when you fall, it's no one's fault but mine._

 _Mine._

 _Only mine._

 _ **IT'S YOUR**_ _(MY)_ _ **FAULT.**_ _'_

"Morning, my beloved sister.~"

When her eyes snapped open, she was drenched in sweat and her arm was already lashing at the figure on her bed, covered in black scales and rippling with powerful muscles. But it was easily blocked by another arm, smaller, slimmer but strengthened by muscles that were equal in power to hers. The nails were slimmer and the scales grey; however, it was easily able to defend against Inori's larger limb.

Gunmetal eyes were seething with rage as they stared at Kanade, who giggled playfully as she jumped away from the bedside, her left arm back to a normal, non-scaled, tanned limb. "You're totally soaked! Was the dream that exciting?~"

Her wounds may have had almost healed but her mind was in no state to deal with the demon of a woman. "OUT. GET OUT." Inori crawled on all fours, tangled curls curtaining her face in a haunting look as she bared sharp teeth.

Kanade put her hands up in surrender, ambling backwards with languid steps. "Calm down, calm down, little Princess." The teen bristled at the words, the nails on her hands and feet growing sharper. "I'm only here on dad's orders. He wants you to get dressed and meet him in the back gardens."

The unwelcome words sent an unpleasant tinge down Inori's spine. But knowing that she had no choice but to obey, she gritted her teeth and spat, "Fine. Now GET OUT. OUT." Kanade lazily waved an arm at her before skipping out of the doorway – she had enough courtesy, however, to close the door behind her.

As soon as she was alone again, the girl collapsed on her bed, arms and legs splayed out.

Taking in deep, shaken breaths, her head lolled to the side as she stared at the pristine white bandages on her hand, knowing that the wounds underneath had almost fully healed. Irritated, she roughly ripped off the cello tape that held the gauze in place and, in another act of annoyance, pulled it off to reveal lighter, marred skin below. As she threw the gauze on the floor, she stared at the new markings pressed into her deep tan, remembering the person who'd given them to her.

"Where are you . . . Kataya Ren?" she mumbled, throwing an arm over her eyes.

That woman who'd taken him was definitely the one from the Shiguna incident. And yet, when she'd mentioned it to Deku and the police, the only thing they'd told her was to get rest and not thing about such matters anymore.

' _Damn adults. Do they think we're incapable of anything?'_

She raised herself up, staring at some distant corner in the room, mind completely muddled with thoughts. The same dream about Nagi . . . the incident with Graviton . . . the punishment they'd narrowly escaped . . . and the reappearance of that woman . . .

' _I don't get a good feeling from all of this.'_ Her bare feet stepped onto the carpeted floor as she bunched her hair up, preparing herself for the encounter with her father. _'I don't get a good feeling at all.'_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

' _As always, the gardens are well-maintained.'_

The hydrangea and morning glory buds had begun sprouting, their colourful petals only weeks away from flowering into full bloom. The bushes had been neatly trimmed and watered and as she traced a sunflower's petals with her fingertips, memories of the time when Asuna would weave garlands of them for her fluttered through her mind.

"Did you get enough sleep?"

The warmth in her heart was soon doused by unfiltered hatred. "Yes."

Tetsuya Takashi stood with his back facing her, hands folded behind his rear and shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows to reveal granite muscles. The sun was on its ascent in the eastern sky, surrounded by specks of white clouds plastered onto a vast, bright canvas of cerulean. On such a lovely day, in such a lovely garden, Inori was forced to acknowledge buried issues she'd been ignoring for so long.

He turned back, setting starkly similar silver eyes on her. "And your injuries?"

"They're fine." It was hard to keep her tone neutral when all she wanted to do was spit and scream at the muscular man. The fact that she was wearing a full-sleeved shirt to hide her ripped bandages was making her feel even more irritated and hot.

"You know which _injuries_ I mean, Inori."

Reflexively, her hand flew to her stomach and settled there for a few seconds before she forced it by her side. "They're fine."

Takashi's eyes narrowed into a look his daughter knew all too well. A look she abhorred.

"If you say so, let's see how much you've recovered."

As soon as he stopped speaking, she threw herself at him – clawed hands and limbs drawn and wings cutting through the air as she pivoted towards Takashi. Inori's slashes were vicious and quick, slicing through the air but her father was even quicker, steps so well-timed that not even a hair on his head was touched by her large nails. His calm movements infuriated her even further and she quickened hers, even though her wounds were beginning to burn and a sharp throb stabbed on the inside of her stomach.

' _Damn you, damn you, DAMN YOU!'_ Inori threw back the upper half of her body and tried to lodge a brutal kick into her father's chest but missed by centimetres. As he dodged her strikes, his hands remained folded and face bored, almost like he were playing games with a kindergartener.

"STOP PLAYING AROUND!" Black scales reached further up her arms and legs and spread under her eyes, pupils narrowed into thin slits. Bringing both her arms together to grab at him, he steps to the left to avoid her claws. And seeing her chance, she raised up her left leg to pierce through his side.

The sound of ripping cloth echoed through the silent atmosphere as a dark crimson arm, almost bursting with overflowing muscles, grabbed Inori's leg in one go.

"Okay." She was hurled through the air over Takashi's shoulder, almost crashing into a nearby hedge but managed to regain her balance by rapidly fluttering her wings. Without taking a single moment to breathe, she flew towards her father in a straight line, building up speed as her limbs enlarged. Short horns were curving out of her head and her teeth were sharp, gritted together firmly.

' _ **Rip his head off.'**_ Black scales began rapidly spreading over her whole body as she lunged at her father, using her wings to attack from a greater height. The nails on her claws sharpened as they hacked forward, aimed right towards Takashi's neck-

' _ **OFF. PULL IT OFF. OFF. OFF. OFF! OFF!'**_

"Control yourself, Inori."

Two large arms, with powerful force, grabbed onto her claws and stopped her in mid-air. Takashi's eyes glowed an icy silver and, for the slightest moment, cold fear passed through the fifteen-year old.

' _ **He'll kill**_ _us.'_

And, with surging force, the arms dragged and smashed her down onto the watered grass. "Ugh!" A string of saliva flew out of her mouth as her stomach brutally smacked down, pain ripping through her innards. Her wings shakily fluttered but Takashi roughly grabbed them and pushed them down on her back, painfully cramping the muscles.

All she saw for a minute was white.

"Strength is nothing without control, Inori." Her fingers clenched into the dirt as she tried to raise herself but the pain in her stomach forced tears out of her eyes. "No matter how powerful a Quirk is, without proper training and use, a much weaker Quirk can easily overwhelm it."

Even if she wanted to reply, the pain spreading through her insides was ringing her ears.

As Takashi moved away and turned to walk inside, he stated, "You're still not where you could be. Team TENSHI is no more, Inori, so leave it behind. UA is the place where you can make a mark for yourself and progress . . . so don't do anything stupid to tarnish the chance you have."

His footsteps began fading but she continued lying in the dirt, face pressed to the ground. Angry tears spilled down her cheeks.

' _. . . You're wrong. Team TENSHI . . . is eternal. And once I find Nagi, we'll all be together again.'_

* * *

 **(21** **st** **May, Friday, 11:33 a.m. – Bakugou Household)**

". . . You're back."

Despite having known the man almost intimately the past five years, Kasai could never control the look of blatant admiration that sparkled in his eyes whenever he even thought of the No. 2 Hero. Even if said man was sitting at the porch of his apartment, dressed in ripped jeans and a crimson band shirt, untying the laces of his sneakers.

"And you should be in fucking school." Katsuki's voice was pissed than usual and Kasai shifted his gaze to the floor, cheeks heated with embarrassment. "Oh, wait. I forgot you were motherfucking _suspended_."

Of course, he should've expected that the blond knew each and every detail of the incident – Deku and Ground Zero were known to be close friends, after all. But as Katsuki neatly placed his shoes in the cabinet and stepped inside the posh apartment, Kasai prayed that a vase would fall on his head and make him lose any memories of him being involved in the issue with Graviton.

When the teen continued standing near the main door, too hesitant to walk inside (despite having been in the house an uncountable number of times), it was Katsuki yelling, "Do you want a written invitation or something, Hitori?!" that made him rush in.

He stood leaning against the wall outside the main bedroom as the blond wheeled his suitcase inside. Trying his best to dispel the awkward tension, he asked, "I-I thought . . . you'd be gone away for longer."

Half-expecting heated curses to be thrown at his face, he was pleasantly surprised when Katsuki gave a civil reply to his question. "The Villain I was tracking is confirmed to have officially left Yokohama so there was no use being positioned there anymore. Chargebolt and Mental are still leading investigations there but I was called back."

"I . . . see." If it was the Hero Association itself that had sanctioned his return, it meant that Ground Zero was going to be in Musutafu for at least a few months. And the fact made Kasai smile. "If two of the top 20 Heroes are still there, it must mean that the Villain was quite dangerous."

"It's all over the news, brat. Or is UA keeping you too busy to even watch TV?"

' _Untouchable . . . an anonymous Villain whose identity is still unknown, recognised only by the moniker awarded by the public due to the bloody, unrecognisable corpses they leave behind.'_ Kasai recalled all he knew about the Villain – despite being amongst the Most Wanted in Japan, no one knew anything about him or her, except for the vague guesses made about their Quirk. Which was why, despite being fairly active since the past few years, even the top Heroes and investigators had not uncovered a single confirmation about their identity.

"That's enough about me, though." Katsuki stepped out of the bedroom and Kasai immediately straightened in attention. "What are you doing these days, Hitori? Except almost getting expelled and going after professional mobsters."

' _He's . . . going to hold it against me for some time, isn't he?'_ Smiling shyly underneath his respirator, the blue-haired boy scratched his cheek. "Well, I've made some really nice friends at school and the teachers are really kind at UA, and teach us a lot of important things."

"Huh, that so? Well, glad to know you're enjoying high school much more than I did." He walked into the marbled kitchen, Kasai slowly following behind. Opening the well-stocked refrigerator, he took out two cans of chilled energy drinks, handing one to the teenager. The boy immediately recognised it as something he'd frequently drunk during the three months he'd been training under the Hero.

"I . . . definitely am." Even though there were some people who made their dislike for him scathingly obvious (like their newly elected class president), it was a fact that Kasai had met many kind people in his class. The duo took a seat at the dining table, and, unconsciously, took a sip of their drinks at the same time. _'Gulp . . . I'd almost forgotten how strong it tasted.'_

"Enough about the fun." Katsuki slung an arm over another chair as he leaned back, placing his feet on the dining table. "What kind of special training have you begun for it?"

Slightly confused, Kasai placed his drink on the table and stared at his mentor with furrowed brows. "Special training . . .? 'It' . . .? Special training for what?"

Ground Zero almost spat out of his drink, coughing hoarsely into the back of his palm. As the nervousness on Kasai's face increased, he spat, "Seriously, brat? It's almost June and you _still_ have no clue what I'm talking about?"

He stiffly shook his head, beginning to grow rigid with cold fear. "No . . . what are you talking about, Ground Zero?"

"Hah!" The boy flinched at the Hero's short bark of laughter. The smirk on Katsuki's face was too amused for his liking.

"The UA Sports Festival, brat. Don't tell me you haven't been informed about it?"

* * *

 **S** **tudent Name: Fuma Kanashimi**

 **Quirk: Emotions Manifest**

 **Emotions Manifest allows Fuma to convert his emotion of sadness into a raw energy that can be used to enhance his physical abilities or be turned into an output of wind fired out of his body.**

 **P.S: Fuma has a blatant sweet tooth.**

* * *

 _The news about the upcoming, officially unannounced sports festival spread in the class group text like wildfire._

 _Although the attending students still hadn't been told about it by the teachers, we had a very reliable source for the news – Koji was, after all, the son of one of UA's prominent faculty. And Hitori incessantly backed him up, insisting a reliable source had told him about it too._

 _The rest of the ten days passed by in a blur._

 _All of us had become busy with schoolwork and half of us had decided to begin training schedules for the Sports Festival, me included (Koji doesn't joke about such things). Fujita and Shimizu were great helps in providing us with detailed notes on everything taught in class and Yuki and Jobu kept us updated on even the smallest incidents that happened in school. Hara and Madou often texted us personally to keep a check on how we were doing, reassuring us that no teacher in school thought badly of the incident and that we shouldn't worry. Even Asagumo and Kita texted me once._

 _They're all really nice people._

 _And, before we knew it, it was time to get back to school._

* * *

 **(31** **st** **May, Monday, 8:47 a.m. – UA)**

"You guys . . . YOU GUYS ARE BACK!"

As soon as Yasu stepped inside the 1-A classroom, a small golden bundle latched onto him in a tight hug. The tall blond silently patted Aisen's back, reassuring him without words.

"KAGAMI!" From Yasu's side, Reiko did the same – zipping through the classroom within milliseconds, she had pivoted right to where her turquoise-haired friend stood and clung to her with a loud wail. But instead of pushing her away or being sarcastic, like she usually did, Kagami returned the girl's hug with a small smile.

"Welcome back, Reiko-san." She whispered and it took everything for Reiko to not burst into tears then and there.

And slowly, all of the suspended students began to pour in – Haruka and Koji were their usual selves, the former engrossed in his earphones while the latter seemed to completely retain his sprightly, jokester self. Jigoku and Kenio entered a few minutes later and, despite their smiles, it was obvious to most that the two were still shaken from the incidents that had just transpired. But everyone was sensitive enough to not bring it up.

Kasai entered only a few minutes before classes began, shortly followed by Inori. Whereas Akaname and Asuna had been engaged in conversation with their returned classmates, they immediately excused themselves to their desks as the last of the people entered the class.

And, finally, Tsukuyomi walked in.

' _Finally . . . the missing pieces have been returned to the board once again.'_ As he surveyed the nervous students with unreadable eyes, he announced, "Once I am done with the confirmation of titles, I shall want all the suspended apprentices to follow me into the alight courtyards."

As the mentioned students stiffened, Jobu jumped to his feet. "Sensei! I think they've had enough retribution for their mistakes!" Ryo almost dropped his manga when the silver-haired boy used 'retribution' without any mistakes in pronunciation or context. "Please let them off!"

Before the crow-headed man could speak, Akaname sprang up. "Tokoyami-sensei, it is a humble request from the majority of the class that Nakamura-san, Itou-san, Tetsuya-san, Hitori-san, Tejina-san, Aizawa-san, Reiko-san and Hanransha-san be pardoned for their transgressions. It was a mistake they made in the heat of the moment due to hormonal imbalances." He bowed forward and added, "I request as Class President that I shall not allow such further instances to occur and, in case they do, am prepared to take full responsibility for them."

"Shimizu-san, no!" Kenio cried, staring at the bespectacled boy with horror as most of the students exchanged anxious gazes, unnerved by the direction the situation was heading towards. Hoshi was overcome with a new surge of guilt as she lowered her gaze, tightly balling her fists to keep her body from shaking.

After what seemed to be an eternity of silence, Tsukuyomi coolly replied, "On another note, I would like the whole class to come out in the courtyard. Today, we will learn a special lesson."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Under the blistering sun, eight students in UA PE uniforms stood in a straight line, showcasing varying degrees of nervousness as they faced down one of the top twenty Heroes of the country.

"This . . . is unfair . . .," Hoshi muttered through quivering lips, staring at the gravel under her shoes with bleary eyes. She, along with the other students, stood on the sidelines in the school's vast courtyard, shadowed under the branches of a tall maple. A good distance away from them stood Tsukuyomi with his black cape fluttering around his intimidating frame.

"What . . . is the meaning of this?" Haruka muttered, the first to speak to the surprise of many.

"A test, you may call it," was Tsukuyomi's answer, carefully chosen words rolling off his tongue. As all pairs of eyes widened, the Jet Black Hero fixed his cape and continued, "All of you took on a gang of professional mobsters . . . a lone Hero should not be much of a problem for you."

"But, sensei-!" Kenio looked too horrified to speak further.

"It is alright, apprentice Nakamura, you have my permission." There was no hint of hesitation or backing down in Tokoyami's eyes. "Besides, if you know even the basics about my Quirk, you should be more confident."

The ginger gulped as sweat trickled down his nape due to the heat. And, in that one moment, Haruka moved.

Without any warnings, the dark-haired boy launched himself in the air after a short runway, right arm braced in a powerful punch. But when he was centimetres away from Tsukuyomi, the man jumped to the right – Haruka tried to turn his body to grab onto his cape but the Hero was too fast and the student had crashed gracelessly to the ground.

"Looks like there's no talking out of this one!" Yasu was the second one to move, running at full speed towards his teacher and Reiko stared with shocked eyes at his back before determinedly swallowing and following after. As the other four kept watching, the blonde raced on with immense speed on her Ankle Wheels and raised a leg to kick Tsukuyomi's back-

But without even turning, Dark Shadow popped out and pecked right on top of her head, driving her half into the ground as she yelled in pain. Yasu pulled down his balaclava to spray a jet of Bad Blood at Dark Shadow but they merely phased through his non-corporeal body; and the sentient shadow was soon stretching out across the field and reaching right towards him.

"It's useless attacking the shadow! Go for sensei!" Jigoku rushed to his friend's aid and drew out two steel cards from each of his arms, throwing them at Tokoyami. Although he easily dodged them, as soon as they swept past, thin wires emerged out and wrapped around his frame, binding his upper body in a tight hold.

"Nice, Tejina! I got him now!" With a strong desire to deliver the finishing blow, Yasu raced towards his teacher and sucked in his cheeks to spit out a thick torrent of his corrosive blood – but as calm as ever, Tokoyami ran in his direction, staring death into the blond's eyes. Although intimidated, Yasu was not one to back down easily and when they were close enough, he spat out the blood, aimed right at Tsukuyomi's upper body.

"Dark Shadow!" In a movement of amazing flexibility, Tokoyami firmly planted his feet to the ground and bent the upper half of his body backwards in an arch, not wincing in the slightest as Bad Blood rained over his torso and thighs. The obedient shadow whisked out and grabbed Yasu in its talons before hurling the boy into the air – he tried to spray his acidic blood on it but it passed through again and soon, he was tossed back and toppling straight towards the ground.

"Hanransha-san!" Kenio rushed to aide the blond, drawing a large rubber float to cushion his fall. Meanwhile, the Bad Blood had eaten away at the steel wires that had trapped Tokoyami and now free to move, he flew right towards Jigoku.

"Uh oh," the boy nervously smiled before a blast of air passed by him – Inori was flying towards her teacher, face grave and claws poised to slash. As Yasu landed on his back on Kenio's rubber float and Kasai succeeded in pulling Reiko out of the ground, Inori raised a hand and struck hard at her teacher. But he easily blocked her strike.

Foreseeing the low sweep of her left arm, Dark Shadow blocked it as well. "Sensei," Inori asked, voice completely sombre as she pulled back and swung another kick at Tokoyami, "Why do you not trust us?"

Dark Shadow grabbed it in a giant talon and blocked her other leg with his right talon when she tried to hit from his blind side. "I am disappointed to know that you still have not understood anything, apprentice Tetsuya." The girl snarled as she pulled her torso forward to slash at the Hero but he harshly lugged her legs and dragged her along as he flew back, making her lose control of her body.

On the ground, Haruka broke into a run and flung himself into the air in a straight arch, aimed right towards his teacher.

Inori flapped her wings hard to get away from him but the grip was too strong for her to pull herself out of. "It's not about us not trusting you." A badly drawn missile, headed straight for Tsukuyomi, was splattered into paint with one swipe of his claw. Using her free leg, Inori tried to drive its nails inside her teacher but at that very moment, he tossed her to the side like a dry piece of celery.

And right before she could gain her balance, Haruka's hard body crashed into her from behind and both teens were sent plunging towards the ground.

"I-Inori-san!" Kenio stared at her unmoving body with horror before he realised a large black shadow was upon him. Terrified but not enough to become immobile, he reloaded the rocket launcher he'd drawn and shot it towards Dark Shadow. But bringing up its talon, it cleanly cut through the structure until it had splattered to paint.

' _Why . . . are my drawings weaker than before?!'_ The ginger quickly began drawing wings on his back as Yasu fired spray after spray of Bad Blood at Dark Shadow but it would blow them away with air slashes from its big talons. A volley of cards shot towards it from its rear but whipping out a long, black tail, it sliced the cards in half with ease.

"Nakamura-san, run!" Kenio grabbed Yasu with both arms and took to the air, struggling to balance himself in flight and the heavy weight of the person he was carrying. Yasu sprayed as much blood as he could at Tokoyami but due to Dark Shadow's clear body and air waves, it did next to nothing.

"He's going to catch us at this rate!" The blond yelled, even as Kenio did his best to flap as hard as he could. But with both arms engaged and paining, and his movements clumsy, he was unable to do much.

"Hitori, do something!" Reiko yelled as she violently shook the boy, watching Tsukuyomi almost devour her two friends. Kasai was incredibly worried but at a complete loss. _'What can_ _ **I**_ _do?! Use Death Breath?! I'll knock out both Nakamura-san and Hanransha-san along with sensei! And . . . my gauntlets! I don't have them yet again!'_

"Oi, Aizawa-san!" Jigoku yelled, turning towards the boy who hadn't moved since the beginning of the fight . "We're in a bit of a pinch here!"

"I know, right? It's so fun to watch!" Koji cheerfully waved back at his jaw-dropped classmates, clearly enjoying the show. "Best of luck, you guys! I'm not participating since I will definitely lose but I'm nonetheless enjoying the show! I'm rooting for you all!"

' _Guh, this twat-!'_ Jigoku scowled in annoyance. _'Can we expect nothing from him?!'_

"Shimamura-san, please take me to them!" Kasai asked, grabbing Reiko's arms. _'I have no clue what I can do right now but if we don't hurry, they will-!'_

"Roger! Hold tight!" As she blazed through the ground on her Ankle Wheels, Kasai felt the wind scream in his ears as he clung onto his classmate with all four limbs, tears whipping out his eyes. _'H-How can she race around like this all the time?!'_

"Hitori, he's right overhead!" Slowing down, he looked up to see Tsukuyomi flying a few metres above their heads. _'Alright, Kasai, it's your turn to be useful now!'_ Despite pumping himself with confidence, Kasai's fingers shook as he pulled out a small lighter out of his trousers. Opening the latch of his respirator with quivering hands, he gulped nervously as a small flame flickered to life from the lighter.

' _Deep breaths, deep breaths . . . w-why am I so nervous?!'_

"Hitori-san, Shimamura-san, look ou-!"

Within seconds, Tsukuyomi and Dark Shadow had diverted themselves from their original pathway of chasing after Kenio and Yasu and now were upon the two teens on the ground, fast approaching. Reiko screamed as she drew back in a panic and the movement made the lighter slip out of Kasai's hands. "Oh no!" However, in trying to catch hold of it, he imbalanced the blonde underneath him and both of them had soon fallen to the ground.

"Nakamura, let go of me! Help those two!" Kenio flew towards his friends as hard as he could, dropping Yasu to the ground when they were near enough but he was too late and could only watch as Dark Shadow raised its talons and slammed them into Reiko and Kasai, knocking the two out with pained gurgles.

Becoming frustrated, his fingers began moving rapidly and painting disjointed lines, giving shape to something he was sure he could push back his teacher with.

' _The Jet Black Hero Tsukuyomi's Dark Shadow is an all-rounding, powerful Quirk but it does have one glaring weakness!'_ Tokoyami turned around just in time to appear face-to-face with Kenio who, with a determined expression, flew right towards him with his ace weapon in hand. The teacher's eyes widened and it was right at that moment that a spurt of brilliant flames roared out of the cartoonish flamethrower, aimed straight at Tsukuyomi.

"Did he do it?!" Jigoku exclaimed, stopping in his tracks as he watched the intense air battle.

As everything was consumed in smoke and fire, Dark Shadow cries rung out. Hurriedly switching off the cog, Kenio's eyes searched nervously amidst the grey smoulders. _'Did I . . . overdo it?'_

His question was answered when an even larger black talon tore through the smoke and grabbed him in a firm grip. It reduced his wings to paint blobs and tossed him down like a ragdoll, his vision blackening as his back smashed against the ground.

"Nakamura-sa-!" However, Yasu did not have time to complete his sentence as Dark Shadow, larger than before, dashed straight towards him. Giant wings of what seemed to be black miasma stretched out from his back and sharp talons were raised to tear through flesh in one go. Or at least that was what it looked like to the dark-skinned teen.

"Hanransha!" However, Inori seemed to have somehow gotten up on her feet again from her painful collision with Haruka and was blitzing through the air towards Tokoyami. Dark Shadow stilled for the shortest of moments before it picked up Yasu and flung him in the air towards her. As the boy flailed his limbs, the raven-head swooped down to catch him, flapping her wings as hard as she could.

"Tetsuya-san!" Thankfully, she managed to grab hold of him in time. But there was no time to rest as Dark Shadow was already upon them.

"I won't let you go this time, sensei." Haruka zapped through the air, rotating his body clockwise as his metallic limbs steered the arch of his body. Dark Shadow screeched as it turned its attention to the boy gyrating towards it and with a tremendous force, Haruka finally managed to knock right into the large being.

But-

Grabbing him with both talons and stopping his body mid-flight, Tsukuyomi felt an intense heat course through both him and his sentient shadow at Haruka's scalding body. However, something of this calibre was unable to even make him flinch and ignoring the pain, he flung the boy in Inori's direction. He remained unsurprised when the girl grabbed hold of him with her free arm.

' _Too predictable.'_

"He's . . . strong." Haruka managed to cough out but there was no time for conversation as Dark Shadow was upon the trio once again. Inori flapped her wings as fast as she could, struggling to retain her strength and speed to escape-

But she knew she had no chance.

"Disciples, though you may be strong, there are a few key lessons you still haven't learned." Tsukuyomi was upon them like the Reaper of Death itself, a giant talon raised in attack.

Jigoku's eyes snapped shut at that precise moment and when he opened them once again, he was greeted with the visage of Inori, Yasu and Haruka crashing onto the ground. He watched nervously as sweat trailed and dripped down his jaw line but they made no signs of moving.

"I forfeit!" He raised a hand in surrender and Dark Shadow immediately stopped its rapid movements. It gently fluttered its wings until Tsukuyomi had stepped onto hard ground again and disappeared under its master's black cape, after screeching something about good exercise.

"Whoa, that was a total massacre! They didn't even have a single chance!" Koji whistled under his breath as he scratched his head. An immensely annoyed Asuna approached him from behind and slammed her shoe on his foot, ignoring his pained yelp.

"Shut up, Aizawa! You didn't even help!" Aisen shot him an angry glare as he and a few others rushed past, headed straight for their fallen classmates. Jigoku's legs, meanwhile, wouldn't stop shaking and it took his all to stand straight.

' _Are you kidding me?'_ He swallowed the lump in his throat, the memories of the dark monstrous shadow repeating in his head on a loop. _'How . . . were we supposed to fight something like that?'_

"Shimizu, ask Shuzenji-sensei to send some of his nurses." Looking up with a slightly frightened gaze at his teacher's command, Akaname obediently nodded and got up from his position beside the unconscious Kenio, breaking into a run as he left.

"Sensei."

Tokoyami was broken out of his reverie by Mashiro's quiet whisper.

The white-haired boy stood close to him, staring straight into the Hero's face with a hollow look in his visible eye.

"Was it necessary?"

For a few moments, words seemed like they were unable to claw out of Tsukuyomi's throat. The question was one he himself did not know the answer to and yet, he'd decided to follow what his heart had told him. Something his mentor had always told him to do.

' _Even if I don't always know whether I'm in the right or the wrong.'_

"There are some things you can only learn about when you take the hard road, apprentice Madou." Mashiro made no reply to the statement, standing completely still as Tsukuyomi moved past him. "And . . . there are some things you need to learn before you regret not knowing about them."

The wind that accompanied the words gently rustled through the leaves of the tall maple.

"Before a harsher result appears."

* * *

 **(?, ?, ? - ?)**

"It hurts . . . so much."

In the cold night, the distant police sirens echoed from behind her, drowning out the scurrying of the rats in the dirty alley. The pain of broken bones was beginning to seep through her skin and burn through bruised muscles, bare feet leaving behind bloody footprints as they shakily ambled through the dark.

"It hurts . . . without you here, Shibu."

But despite the excruciating numbness that was beginning to consume her arms, she refused to let go of the small body in her hold. The body of a young girl whose lifeless eyes stared dully at her face.

Hot tears blurred her vision as she collapsed on the grime and mud, battered body leaning against a dirt-stained wall, huddled between two trash cans. Her wails were silent and muffled as she clung to the petite body, heavy breaths racking her frame almost destructively.

"I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry, Shibu . . . I-I'm sorry . . . I'm so, so sorry . . ."

But there was no reply.

"Oh, you poor, poor child."

Snow-coloured eyes, without the trace of a pupil spreading within, shot open in panic and fear at the voice. The girl tried to raise herself up but her twisted ankle dragged her back to the ground with a suppressed cry.

"Good child, sweet child, there is no need to panic." Out of the shadows echoed footsteps, followed by a tall silhouette and a silken voice that lulled souls into the trap of comfort. "I do not come to harm or threaten you." But the girl's bloodied face twisted into a scowl as she clutched the corpse to her chest, eyes glowing.

Under the paltry lights, all she could make out was the figure that stopped in front of her was a man.

"I come to offer you a sanctuary, young one."

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Alright, dear readers, there are a few things I need to clear up about this story. Since the manga is still ongoing, there are going to be changes that will not be keeping in canon with the story (mainly, things that occur in the manga after I've written about events in the story). Although I'll be doing my best to keep things canon as much as I can, I cannot see the future and predict Horikoshi's plans, as unfortunate as it is. Some of the changes are that Asuna and Koji were already born by the time Izuku and the others had joined UA since there is only a 15-year old age gap between them.**

 **Also, I was on vacation so I couldn't read most of the Villains you all sent me but I shall begin to look over them from today! Selections are open till 1** **st** **August so don't be shy about sending your OC even if it's on the last day! I will be selecting the best out of all I receive so you have no need to hurry.**


	25. Ch 24 - Gear Up, 1-A!

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 24 – Gear up, 1-A!**

 _It is said that man's greatest enemy is man himself._

 _After Tsukuyomi-sensei absolutely demolished us during the 'special lesson', there was a bitter realisation that dawned upon most of us. I had been too frustrated with myself to have figured it out on my own but when we were in the infirmary, Hara came to speak to us._

" _You all are being too hard on yourselves." He shook his curls as he spoke, radiating wisdom despite his small appearance. "Sensei didn't fight all of you in order to demoralise you or anything. In fact . . . it was hard for him to do what he did but he went through with it because he believed in the lesson he was teaching."_

 _As I looked around at everyone's faces, I saw all of them were as disbelieving as I was. But even though Hara saw the scepticism in our expressions and read the mistrust in our hearts, he went on._

" _What sensei wanted to show yo- no, to everyone of us was . . .," he spoke the words with some difficulty._

" _. . . how weak we are."_

 _I'm not weak, I wanted to say. I'm a member of Team TENSHI, once regarded as some of the strongest middle school students of Japan. We survived in battle with a dangerous, powerful Villain._

 _But the words refused to come out of my throat._

 _A sort of a sad smile floated onto his face as he leaned against one of the bed posts. "It sounds stupid, I know, but it's true. I know we're all students of UA, considered to be the best in Japan but . . ."_

" _. . . compared to professionals, honestly speaking, we are nothing."_

 _I wouldn't say it. I'd never say it. But just like everyone else-_

 _Those words hurt more than the beating sensei had given us._

* * *

 **(1** **st** **June, Tuesday, 10:05 a.m. – UA)**

"Today, disciples, we shall commence a conventional team-building exercise."

Eraserhead and Tsukuyomi pointedly ignored the disappointed scowls on the faces of some of the students. When the latter had realised just how much development their teamwork needed after seeing all the shoddy cooperation yesterday, they'd all been summoned in their PE uniforms for a second special lesson. Inori and the others were relieved to find out that this one did not involve them being brutally beaten up.

Once the murmurs died down after a single glare from Eraserhead, he said, "This will be a battle between two teams consisting of four people each." Everyone stood to attention. "I don't know how many of you are familiar with this game but we call it a cavalry battle. A game where three people stand in a triangle to form a horse and one person sits on top of them as the rider."

' _This game . . . this is the one Tsukuyomi-sensei and his batch participated in during the UA sports festival when they were 1_ _st_ _years!'_ Akaname's eyes widened with excitement. Most of the other students seemed to have realised it too and began whispering in excited chatters.

"Although it is traditionally a game where several teams face-off against each other, we will have a direct showdown between two teams." The students stiffened as Tsukuyomi scoured the line-up, wondering which eight students would be the victims of the first trial.

The scouring was only for show, however, because the participants had been selected long ago.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"M-Me?!"

"Again, I ask, is there _any_ other Jack Yuki in class?! Really, now!"

"Hey, Nishiya, stop being so hard on him! Confusion can happen to everyone!"

"~Ai-chi, Asu-chi, Jobu-chi, let's work hard together!~"

"Ssssssensssssei, I apologissssssse for being impolite but might I refussssssse?"

"But why, Enoshima?"

"Before you say anything, Kenshi-san, I had nothing to do with this."

". . . Shut the fuck up, Hara."

' _Perfect.'_ The same thought passed through the minds of both teachers at the eight students they'd selected. Eraserhead lazily drawled, "Yuki, Nishiya, Jobu and Madou are in the first team." Nervousness, disdain, excitement and amusement flashed on each of their faces. "While Enoshima, Tetsuya, Hara and Kenshi are in the second team." A barely suppressed scowl, an obedient nod, a completely blatant scowl and a hesitant smile were visible on the other four. "The teams need to decide the position of the members in the cavalry horse."

"Understood?! NOW SHOO, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES TO DECIDE!" At the sight of a huge Dark Shadow screeching at them, the eight students quickly dispersed to opposite sides in their groups. The other twelve and the two teachers sat at a distance, watching.

Asuna, Jobu, Mashiro and Aisen formed a tight circle, talking in whispers. "Oi, shouldn't Nishiya be the head of the horse?" Jobu mumbled a little too loud. "Since she's the smallest and probably the lighte-Ouch!"

Stomping down hard on his foot, the brunette growled, "What do you mean 'probably'?! I'm _definitely_ the lightest!" Coughing awkwardly, she added, "But that doesn't mean I'll be the head! There's no way I'm doing that!"

"But why, Nishiya?" Aisen blinked in confusion, both he and Jobu staring at her perplexedly. "Ah, if you're worried about us carrying you, don't worry! These guns may look small but they're plenty strong!" He smirked, flexing his biceps, which looked pathetic compared to the other boy's rippling arms.

However, the twin-tailed girl looked completely unamused at his joke – instead, a frustrated smile was tightening on her face. "You dumbass . . .," Both boys backed away from the poisonous aura surrounding her, her right fist shaking, ". . . Are you both really that stupid and tactless . . ."

Jobu and Aisen hugged each other, shaking wildly in fright before Mashiro popped up with a smile. "~Jobu-chi, Ai-chi, what Asu-chi means is that she doesn't want to be molested by us!~" The air between the four of them completely dropped in temperature but the snow-haired boy was clearly unaffected by it, as he continued babbling. "~She doesn't want us to touch her butt and thighs which is why she doesn't want to be carried! Although you could just be honest with us, Asu-chi!~"

Even though Aisen and Jobu were gesturing for him to shut up, pointing at a gradually darkening Asuna, Mashiro didn't notice. "~Don't worry, Asu-chi, we have no interest in touching you in a perverted way! Ai-chi has a girlfriend, Jobu-chi has Kaga-chi and tsunderes are not at all my type! So you're definitely in no dange-"

"GREATER TRUNK!"

Inori, Kazumi, Habiki and Ryo watched as a giant tree trunk popped out in the enemy camp, Asuna swinging at all three of her teammates. As they sweat-dropped, Inori commented in a grave tone, "We have strong opponents."

"Who are completely unable to control their sssssssstrengthsssss," the redhead hissed, disappointment in her eyes. "Although we have no time to enjoy their sssssstand-up comedy," she stated, looking at her three teammates. "We must decide our own possssssitionsssssss before time runsssssss out."

" _I_ will be the horse head." Ryo's teeth were gritted and his eyes shone with bloodlust, punching a fist into his open palm to assert dominance. "I am going to be the one to _completely_ _destroy_ the other team." He still hadn't forgiven Asuna for interrupting his and Jobu's fight. And now he had finally received a chance where he could demolish both of them.

"That wouldn't work at all." Kazumi immediately interjected, unresponsive at the scowl he threw at her. "If you become the rider, the equilibrium of the horssssssse will suffer too greatly."

Ryo really wanted to retort but could find no counter argument – the snake bitch was right. "Damn you for being so fucking short, Hara," he spat at the curly-haired boy, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"My height isn't something I can control, I'm afraid, Kenshi-san," Habiki coolly replied, completely unaffected. And that was something that pissed off the emerald-haired boy even more.

But before Ryo could cuss at him again, Inori quickly broke in. "So that leaves me and Hara as rider candidates since Enoshima is too heavy and big for us to carry."

A taut smile broke out on Kazumi's face as she stared down at the black-haired girl. "My, my, Tetssssssuya-ssssssan, did your mother never teach you it is rude to comment on a lady'ssssss weight and ssssssize?"

Inori stared back at her and with complete seriousness, replied, "No, she did not."

As even Ryo backed away from the intense glare-down between the two girls, Habiki stepped towards them with placating smiles, "Now, now, let's hurry. The other team has already decided their positions." Turning back, both girls noticed that Asuna and the boys had formed a circle again. "And their positions are Nishiya-san in the lead with Jobu-san on the right and Yuki-san on the left. And the rider will be Madou-san."

"Hara, you-!" Ryo turned threateningly to him.

Habiki held his gaze with unwavering steel eyes. "None of the teachers forbade Quirk usage."

At the sight of those eyes, something inside the taller boy clicked.

 _( "Thank you, Kenshi-san!" )_

"Tch . . . you're as despicable as ever, aren't you?" he muttered, backing off. Inori watched the exchange between the two with suppressed interest.

' _Madou Mashiro . . . he's unarguably the wildest and most unpredictable member in their team.'_ Briefly musing through the remaining possible positions, Kazumi's eyes flickered to the shortest member of their team. "Hara-sssssssan, you'll be the rider."

Despite the aghast look on Ryo's face, Habiki nodded. "Yes, with our matchup, that would be the best choice."

"Oi, isn't Tetsuya clearly the best choice for the rider?!" All three turned to the confused boy as he pointed at Inori. "Hara neither has an offensive Quirk nor athletic abilities! Madou will squash him like a ripe banana!" _'And we'll be defeated by that dratted Nishiya and scrap metal idiot!'_

Habiki did not let the hurt appear on his face but a sharp sting did stab at his heart. Because Ryo had a point – he did not have an offensive Quirk nor were his athletic abilities anything to speak of.

But still . . .

"I think Hara can defeat him."

Inori and Kazumi looked at Habiki with serious gazes, the former staring at the shorter boy with faith in her eyes. "After all, if not for Hara, Asagumo would not have survived and we would have never known about what happened to Fujita." Ryo looked as surprised as Habiki felt. "Hara is a dependable person."

"And he'ssssssss our bessssst ssssssshot at predicting Madou-ssssssan'ssssss movementsssss." The grin on Kazumi's face was virulent. "Although do not worry, I will take down all of them no matter what. Even if I have to do it alone."

The short boy let his gaze fall, trying to hide the widening of his eyes. _'Even Enoshima-san . . .'_

"Tch."

He snapped back to reality as someone roughly pushed past his shoulder. And, as expected, it was Ryo, standing with his tall back to him as he glared at Kazumi. "You better not touch scrap metal or tree, Enoshima – they're _mine._ And Hara."

He turned to look down at the shorter boy, eyes narrowed, "If bony defeats you, I'll give you another beating myself. So don't you _dare_ lose."

Stunned, Habiki stared at his back as the other three began walking towards the gymnasium's centre, hit by memories from the past.

 _( "If anyone ever tries to hurt you," the boy looked at him with earnest, burning deep blues, "you tell me, okay?" )_

' _Why am I remembering such things now?'_ He smiled softly to himself. "Don't worry, Kenshi-san."

And then he took off running after the other three with confident strides.

"We definitely won't lose!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Looks like you were completely right about Hara-san being the rider, Madou-san," Asuna rotated her shoulder blades, shooting a dry glare at Inori. Mashiro only smiled mysteriously at the statement, visible eye shining with excitement.

"Alright, team Madou and team Hara! Here's what this practice battle is about!"

Tsukuyomi and the rest of the class were seated outside the white-bordered area demarcated as the battleground. Both teams stood on opposing sides of the huge area, divided by a straight line that separated it into two halves. "Both riders will be wearing a headband that is the 'chaos crown' of each team – that is, lose it and your team loses!" Mashiro tightened the black headband around his bangs while Habiki adjusted the tie of his white one.

"Each team must try to snatch the headband of the opposing team's rider while making sure the headband of _their_ rider is safe around their head!" Aisen gulped, looking anywhere but at Kazumi – the only reason he'd refused to be the team's rider. _'I know I'm a disappointment but . . . I'm still not ready to face her.'_

As Tsukuyomi sat back down on a chair, Eraserhead announced, "You can use your Quirks but no destroying your surroundings. Or be prepared to pay for the damages incurred."

Most of the students immediately nodded to that, replying "Yes, sensei!" in unison.

Inori, however, looked deep in thought. "So we can damage things if we pay for them?" she murmured out loud.

"Tetsuya-san, we know your family is wealthy but please don't do something like that," Habiki awkwardly smiled as Kazumi and Ryo rolled their eyes, aware money wasn't the only thing they'd have to give if something like that happened. Fortunately, she nodded obediently to his request.

"Alright, then," Eraserhead collapsed against his chair, stifling a yawn. "You may start."

' _What kind of lame starting line is that?!'_ Asuna thought in irritation but nevertheless, they had already started running towards the other team and jumped over the demarcation line. Although they had good speed, something scrambled and poked into the brunette's mind.

' _A shirtless Shoto-san, water rippling down his toned abs, as he flexes under a waterfall, his gorgeous, dual-coloured hair sticking against his smooth nape in silky stran-'_

"Ah!" The girl felt her face grow hot and eyes close in ecstasy at the thought, steps faltering.

"Nishiya!" Aisen looked at the perverted smile on her face and at Habiki, who was staring straight at the girl. "Snap out of it, Nishiya!" He yanked out his right hand and shot a spark towards the white rider. Habiki flinched at the fire ball thrown his way and lost his concentration but before it could reach him, a crystalline pillar erupted out of Ryo's shoulder and scattered the flames.

"Oi, watch out!"

Inori and Kazumi moved forward at the same time, the former attacking with a large claw and the latter whipping out her elongated tail to hit at Mashiro from both sides and topple him to the ground. Jobu and Asuna cried, "We won't let you!" and the silver-haired boy tried to grab Kazumi's tail with a flaming hot palm. But the girl was fast enough to whip it away from his hold, hissing as her scales slightly came into contact with the scalding temperature.

However, Inori's claw ended up crashing into a tree branch Asuna had summoned and manipulating the vines, she wrapped them around the raven-head's arm. Grinning maniacally, the brunette viciously pulled her forward. "I've finally caught you, Inori!"

"No, you don't!" Ryo fired a shard of small crystals to rip through the vines. However, without the support of his and Inori's hands, Habiki's whole weight pushed forward onto Kazumi. Noticing that, Jobu swerved his left fist forward, heating the metal enough to make the lamia back off. However, she was quicker and with her tail, managed to wrap onto his leg and pull him down.

"W-Woah!" And unable to hold himself against her raw strength, the boy toppled down to the ground, unbalancing the whole foundation of the group.

"YOU'RE MINE!" Seeing a chance for a rematch, Ryo broke away from his own group, leaving Habiki on both girls as he attacked Jobu.

"Kenssssssshi, you-!" However, Kazumi had no time to look away as a pointed bone struck against her; and she managed to block it with her tail just in time. Mashiro, gleefully smiling, crackled a bony blade out of his other palm and struck at Kazumi with it.

"Enoshima-san!" Habiki could only watch as the bone rammed into her shoulder and a hiss escaped her; but somehow, she freed her other hand and grabbed the bone.

"Hara-san, grab his band!" Even without Kazumi yelling, the boy was already reaching towards Mashiro. But a sudden surge of fire lightly burned his palm and he backed away.

"I-I won't let you!" Aisen cried, staring determinedly at him as small flames danced on his palm. But when his eyes clashed against Kazumi's enraged ones, he let out a small yelp and the flames died away.

Inori, meanwhile, finally succeeded in breaking away from Asuna's vines by tearing through the main branch. But before she could attack again, the opposing team was suddenly lit in a brilliant surge of flames, as golden as Aisen's hair. "Enoshima!" the raven-head yelled and the tall girl pushed Mashiro's bone constructs away as they immediately retreated to a distance.

"~Yay, I'm already feeling even more fired up!~" Mashiro squealed, breaking out several branches on his bone trunks.

"Alright, guys! It's time to turn them into roast!" Aisen cheered, grinning happily. "Kaz, Nori, Habi, we're coming to bake you into toast!"

"So he develops a split personality when lit up?" Asuna murmured, before yelling, "Doesn't matter! We're charging forward!" The boys yelled in unison and they began rushing towards the other team, brilliantly burnished in golden flames.

"You scrap metal! This time, I'll turn you into recyclable junk for sure!" Ryo and Jobu, meanwhile, were having their own battle a distance away. The former fired a round of crystal shards at the silver-haired boy but they bounced off his metal skin.

"Yeah, Crystallina?! I'll powder you into dust before that!" A heated Jobu rushed at him like a steel bull, charging with all his strength.

The audience stared with confused expressions at the change in events. "Is this even a cavalry battle anymore?" Kenio awkwardly laughed.

"~I don't know but this is fun~!" Hoshi giggled, cheering loudly. "~Go Asuna-chi! Go Enoshima-chan! Fiiiiiigggghhhhttt!~"

' _How dare that chibi airhead publically embarrass me like this!'_ Frustrated beyond belief at the turn of events, Kazumi growled, "Hara, Tetssssssuya, we're winning this no matter what. If you lossssse, I'll persssssssonally sssssstrangle you both."

Inori stared at her for a few seconds before answering, "Okay then, Enoshima, Hara. I leave the rest to both of you." Before Habiki and Kazumi could even blink, she broke off from them and pulled out her wings, charging straight towards the other group. Aisen cried out, Mashiro laughed and Asuna cussed as she broke right into their formation, dragging the brunette away.

"Inori, I won't forgive you!" Asuna pulled out a branch from her pocket and rammed it into the girl, increasing its size and density to land a painful hit. But she managed to dodge just in time, flying upwards and throwing her on the ground. Landing painfully on her butt, Asuna screamed in rage and several branches jerked out off the trunk, popping out erratically to stab into Inori's flesh.

"Make sssssssure you grab it, Hara!" Habiki struggled to keep his hold as he clung to Kazumi's shoulders, the girl slithering forward with full speed. Meanwhile, it was taking Aisen his all to carry Mashiro on his back and the sight of the approaching lamia further weakened his legs, making him want to turn and run away.

"~Ai-chi! Throw me towards them with full force!~" The snow-haired boy's voice broke through his fear.

"M-Madou? Are you sure?!"

"~Yes!" The smile Mashiro gave him was brilliant and just a little insane. "Believe in me, Ai-chi~!"

"O-Okay then! Here . . . I . . . GO!" Using all of his strength, buffed up by Shine Burning's flames, Aisen launched the fire-embalmed boy into the air and spent him spinning towards Kazumi and Habiki, who somehow froze in her tracks.

The redhead's pupils narrowed as she watched the burning mass come towards her, focus not on Mashiro's sadistic grin or the bony weapons jutting out of his body but on the golden flames.

 _( "It burnsssssss, IT BURNSSSSSSS! HELP!_ _ **HELP!**_ _" )_

"Enoshima-san, what's the matter?!" Habiki shook her. "We've got to move!" But when he looked up, it was too late.

"~I've got you now, Habi-chi! Have a taste of my beautiful chaos!~" Mashiro swung a bladed bone right towards the raven-head. Squinting his eyes, Habiki made one last effort to disorientate him when-

"This is the worst teamwork I've ever seen between UA students."

The flames and Mashiro's bone weapons disappeared as he crash-landed on top of Kazumi and Habiki. Jobu's heated metallic body and Ryo's crystals vanished and both of them punched each other's jaws so hard that they knocked each other out. Asuna's trunk shrunk in size and her vines turned back into a tiny stem and when her wings retracted and claws disappeared, Inori fell down on top of the brunette.

"W-What . . .?" Aisen stared at his body, wondering how his flames vanished all of a sudden.

"I said, this is the worst teamwork I've ever seen between UA students." Eraserhead announced in a louder voice, arms crossed tightly across his chest as he glared down at everyone from the podium. "If all of you don't buckle up and improve within the next two weeks, I'm warning you, the UA Sports Festival is going to be hell."

* * *

 **Hero Name: Deku**

 **Quirk: One For All**

 **One For All gives Deku access to stockpiled power, granting him superhuman strength and greatly enhanced agility and mobility by spreading his power through his body.**

 **P.S: Deku has been dominating the Number 1 spot in Hero rankings since the past six years.**

* * *

 **(1** **st** **June, Tuesday, 2:17 p.m. – UA)**

"Today hasn't been a good day at alllllllllll."

Exhausted, drenched in sweat and mentally drained, Aisen collapsed against his desk in the classroom, arms splayed straight and head resting between them.

"Well, at least we now know that the Sports Festival is definitely happening." If he were to be honest, Habiki could barely move any of the aching muscles in his body as he lay down on two joined chairs. After the surprising announcement from Eraserhead, all the students underwent intense physical training the whole day in order to prepare for the upcoming event.

"But this will definitely help us improve as Hero trainees!" Kenio tried to keep his voice cheerful as possible, even though he wanted nothing more to collapse on his bed. His long hair resembled the untidy nest of a lazy bird that had built a house in a hurry for breeding season. "Besides, we need to be able to impress Pros in order to get good internships!"

"I'm not too worried about that, actually." Kasai hummed under his breath as he packed his bag.

Jigoku playfully mused, "Don't tell me some Pro has already asked you, Hitori-san?"

"No but I know one that'll definitely take me as a trainee!" Kasai almost squealed, cerise eyes shining with admiration as he thought of Ground Zero. "And when that time comes I'll . . . I'll . . .!"

As everyone stared weirdly at the odd change in personality of the usually reserved boy, Hoshi cheered him on. "~Yay, I'm happy for you, Hitori-kun!~" Folding her hands behind her back, she wondered aloud, "~It sure would have been nice if I could mentor under Uravity!~"

"That's impossible, Fujita-san. She's in her third trimester." Asuna shook her head, sitting on her desk and swinging her legs. "But to be able train under Shoto-sama would be a true honour!" The brunette clasped her hands, drool almost dribbling down the corner of her mouth.

"I'm gonna do my all to impress Real Steel!" Jobu announced, bumping his metal fists together. "Oh yeah, we're gonna be the Steel duo! The coolest mentor-student pair ever!"

"Say that after I kick your ass in the one-on-one matches, pig iron brain," Ryo snorted, hands shoved in his baggy pants as he crossed in front of Jobu, heading towards the door. The silver-haired boy yelled at him for a fight, grabbed his own backpack and ran after the taller boy.

"Ah, Jobu, don't pick a fight again!" Kagami waved goodbye to Reiko and picked up her satchel before running off after him. However, Ryo's words had replaced the easygoing mood in class with a sombre atmosphere.

"Well, one-on-one battles have always been a tradition for the final round of UA's Sports Festival." Yasu calmly supplemented, arranging his notes for the day.

"Ehhhhhhhhhh but I really don't wanna fight any of you." Aisen whined, palms cupping his cheeks.

"Even I don't but it's not something we can avoid." Kenio patted the blond's head, a strained smile on his face. "Although, getting to that stage itself is going to be plenty difficult."

"Not only our class but the entire 1st year batch of UA is going to participate. That includes 1-B, the business department, the support department and the general education department." Habiki counted on his fingers, sighing at the thought of the competition they were going to face. "That's . . . a lot."

"Not really." Asuna jumped down from the desk and flipped a twin-tail over her shoulder. "The only threats I consider are the 1-B students. The other classes, after all, haven't undergone training as intense as ours." As the others pondered over her words, she picked her bag and walked away. "Well, anyway, I'm going to leave now. See you guys tomorrow."

"~Goodbye, everyone! Get home safely!~" Hoshi waved at all of them and Suzuran gave a meek bow, running after her two friends.

"1-B, she says." Jigoku had a tense smirk on his face as he watched the girls go. "As if there isn't plenty of competition in our own class."

"You have a point, Tejina-san," Akaname replied from the front of the classroom, in the process of thoroughly cleaning his glasses, "but what makes 1-B threatening isn't their supposed strength. It's the fact that we are unaware about the nature and weaknesses of their Quirks, unlike with our own classmates."

Everyone gasped in unison and exchanged glances at the class president's explanation. Aisen puffed out his chest and proudly grinned, "Well, you may be right but even without the surprise factor, my Lena is strong enough to rival anyone!"

' _Still wonder how someone like her ended up dating him.'_ Although they hadn't interacted with the aloof girl much, the beautiful and cold-faced Helena Darkwood seemed to be a polar opposite compared to her childish, hyperactive boyfriend.

"~Even though we may end up fighting against each other . . .," Mashiro placed his chin on top of Habiki's head, wrapping the uneasy boy in his arms, ". . . let's give it our all, okay?~"

And even though everyone laughed at his words and cheered along, the trepidation of having to face-off in the near future shook them a little.

 _I turned away from them, the excited chatters fading into background noise as my mind zoned out._

 _The Sports Festival was two weeks away and after the two special lessons, I'd realised this wasn't going to be as easy as it had been in middle school. Erika, Hiro, Suzune, Tasuku . . . Nagi . . ._

 _No one was with me._

 _But that didn't mean I had nothing to prove._

 _Even if I had to fight against Kenio . . . or Fuma . . . or Asuna . . ._

 _ **I would make Deku look my way no matter what**_ _._

* * *

 **(5** **th** **June, Saturday, 11:47 p.m. – ?)**

"Heh . . . so you're some kind of teenage prodigy?"

The jeep roughly tumbled over the rugged root trails that crowded the forest floor, the only lights in the thick jungle being the headlights of their car. She wondered how the man was able to drive amidst such dense foliage, where towering trees and thick bushes hung over them from all sides – but the penetrating gaze of the staring male beside her compelled her to answer. Even if only it was to push those infuriating emeralds away from her face.

". . . I was," the brunette quietly murmured, turning to stare out of the window, even though the darkness was too thick to see anything. She hoped that would satiate him but for some reason, she noticed him smirk from the corners of her eyes.

"Nice." The amusement in his tone really made her want to break his nose but unfortunately, her new organisation strictly prohibited any sort of violence between its members. "That must've been a fun teenage life."

But nevertheless, her fists tightly balled and she swerved to shoot him an icy look, white irises as chilling as hail. "If it'd been 'fun', I wouldn't be here, would I?" The taut words were almost drowned out by the loud roar of the jeep's engine and the screeches the large tires made as they toppled over branches, foliage and any unfortunate animal that might've come in their way.

"Calm down, calm down, lady." It was almost dramatic how effortlessly the cruel smirk on his face eased its way into one of the friendliest, most assuring smiles she'd ever seen. As Untouchable waved his hands in surrender, he sighed emphatically, "I didn't mean to rub you the wrong way, miss. Forgive me if I crossed the line."

Once upon a time, the young girl would've melted at the genial smile the handsome young male shot her.

' _. . . But I'm not a young girl anymore. I'm Shi-Su . . . the merciless Horachimu Butcherer. And smiles like these are the ones I strive to destroy.'_

As Shi-Su replied to Untouchable's smile with a poker faced glare, Gluttony turned back from the shotgun seat and gleefully clapped her hands. "It's so nice to see you two getting along so well!" Both brunettes shot her a gaze that screamed "Are you serious?" which she promptly ignored, turning to the driver instead. "Isn't it, Doumoto-san?! We're all getting along so well!"

The suited male sighed as he manoeuvred the jeep over another bush, shoulders slumped with exhaustion. "Just . . . shut up, please, woman." Gluttony pouted as much as she could with her lipless mouth and stuck her tongue out at him.

They had been driving deeper and deeper inside the forest since more than an hour, which itself was situated three hours away from some small village in Musutafu's outskirts. Leaning against the backseat, Shi-Su sighed as her shoulders ached from the rugged road and constant seating inside the car. She wondered just how much longer it would take to meet the new associate their 'Master' had told them about.

"So Doumoto-san and girlie here are the only ones who've personally met the leader, right?" Untouchable, bored out of his mind, decided to initiate some conversation. Despite having been a member of the Resurrected Villain League since his initiation almost a month ago, he knew nothing about the 'Master' Doumoto and the cannibal lady talked about. _'Heh . . . I wonder what kind of a person he is . . .'_

"Yosh, as sad as I am to accept, that's true! Mou, I wish Master would be kind enough to grace me with his presence soon, too!" Gluttony whined, kicking her legs forward. "I want to see his skin texture, smell the odour of his sweat, observe the locks of his hair and so much more!"

' _Which is precisely why he doesn't want to meet you, I suppose.'_ However, Untouchable was clever enough to not voice out these words. Instead, he asked a pressing question. "So how far is our new teammate, Doumoto-san?"

The man quietly mused for some time as he narrowly drove through a pass between two thick trees, before answering, "We'll be there soon enough."

Surprisingly, as soon as he's spoken, Shi-Su quietly whispered, "I've been noticing this for a while . . . but the deeper we're going in, the lesser I hear the sounds of the wild animals." When Untouchable and Gluttony shot her apathetic gazes, she added, "It should be the opposite . . . the deeper we embark inside a forest, the sighting and sounds of animals should increase."

The brunet mumbled, "Maybe they're all scared away by our jeep or something?"

The three riders flinched when a short chuckle escaped Doumoto. "Not really, Untouchable-san. It's because . . .

. . . this is _her_ territory."

While a shudder of excitement whisked through Untouchable's spine, Shi-Su felt her skin begin to crawl from unease.

Only a few minutes after the statement Doumoto made, he stopped the jeep near a very thick-trunked banyan with roots that stretched everywhere and dark vines that twisted around each mangled branch. However, even as the other three stepped out of the car, they could see nothing in front of them except trees and bushes all around. But there was, however, one oddity they noticed.

Not a single insect could be heard in the dead of the night.

Switching on a powerful flashlight, Doumoto led the others towards a towering cluster of trees that seemed to be centred around the banyan. "This way, everyone. Although it looks like there's nothing but wild plants here-"

He pushed the densely leafed branches and thick vines out of the way, until they had essentially crossed through a blanket of leaves.

"-our potential recruit lives here."

And both Untouchable and Shi-Su couldn't help the widening of their eyes as they looked around at the vast clearing that spread out behind the opaque cluster. Gluttony squealed with excitement, dainty fingers covering her gasping mouth. "Oh wow! I would've never thought there would be a clearing in the middle of this giant forest! It's almost like in those fictional stories!"

Doumoto half-turned back and replied, "She created all of this herself, after all."

Shi-Su followed after the suited man, already having noticed the giant cave in the middle of the clearing. _'Just what kind of-'_

' _-beast created this?'_ Untouchable languidly tagged behind, hands shoved in his pockets as he warily checked the surroundings around him.

Although the cave already seemed huge from the forest edge, its magnanimous size was driven home as the quartet cautiously eyed it from up close, alert of what lay in the darkness inside. However, not wanting to waste anymore time, Doumoto was quick in calling out whoever they'd come for.

Cupping his hands over his mouth, he yelled, "Jormungand! We're here!"

Complete silence echoed after, only mediated by the rustling of distant leaves in the wind.

"Shouldn't you call once again?" Gluttony rocked back and forth on her heels, her impatience visible.

"No need." Doumoto's sombre expression left no room for arguing. "I'd prefer not to get on her bad side."

The lipless woman tilted her head. "Why would yo-"

And right at that moment, a great shaking reverberated through the earth below their feet, spreading its vibrating ripples in each direction. Untouchable and Shi-Su immediately went on guard, their bodies ready to kill at the slightest threat as the vibrations increased and a loud rumbling echoed from the impenetrable darkness of the cave.

Signs of the appearance of something powerful and monstrous, something that shook through the Earth itself.

Stabilising himself on his feet, Doumoto felt himself slightly tense. "I hope today wasn't her hibernating day."

As the rumbles grew louder and the vibrations more violent, Gluttony pointed towards the cave. "Guys, guys, look! IT'S A GIANT!"

A huge head full of short, black hair emerged out of the cave, revealing a beautifully tanned face underneath. And, as the Villains watched with mixtures of awe, unease and admiration, the giant woman's whole form was gradually fully exposed. Strong, muscular arms on either side of an incredibly endowed bust covered with white bandages that stopped over a strong stomach with washboard abs. The lower half of her body was inarguably not human but as she slithered forward, revealed a long, thick, powerfully muscular serpentine tail of black scales dotted by dark crimson rings.

' _Just . . . how long is her freaking tail?!'_ Shi-Su was on the verge of activating her Quirk, every muscle in her body screaming that this was easily the most powerful person she'd ever encountered. And as the giant lamia pulled herself to a straight height, her shadow easily drowned out the illumination of the flashlight Doumoto was holding. Untouchable stared up at her and deduced she was easily the height of the three-floored apartment building he lived in as a child.

And when her eyes opened and gazed down at them, they felt momentarily paralysed by the animalistic gaze pooling in the red pupils.

"Does your Master not know how to take no for an answer, Doumoto?"

A voice thick with pride and authority, fitting for a creature whose battle scars and hard muscles served as trophies of her triumph. The confidence in her hypnotic eyes was unlike anything Shi-Su or Untouchable had seen before. She spoke like someone who was already assured that victory would always fall into her hands.

But despite that, Doumoto courageously stepped forward, combing back his short, dark hair. "I apologise for disturbing you, Jormungand. But, as our Master may have informed you, we come with a new offe-"

However, before he could complete his sentence, a giant black tail whipped towards the quartet from the side, giving them barely enough time to jump back. Shi-Su gritted her teeth as she tensed her muscles, about to activate her Quirk but Gluttony quickly grabbed her wrist. The brunette stared at her disapproving look before violently yanking her hand away, hissing, "Next time you do that, I'll break your arm." The black-haired woman only giggled cheerfully in reply.

"Looks like your new companions aren't as pathetic as they look." Cold, snow-coloured eyes turned wordlessly to the giant woman and Untouchable raised an eyebrow, amused at everything that was happening. Staring down at the teenager, the lamia hissed, "Control yourself, child . . . do you really think I would've missed if I didn't want to?" Shi-Su's fists balled at being addressed as 'child' but she kept herself restrained.

After all, she wasn't here on a demolition mission.

' _No, this is . . . I'm here for Shibu.'_

"Please calm down, both of you." Ever the mediator, Doumoto slowly approached the towering lamia, not a trace of nervousness or fear on his features. "Jormungand, our Master is aware of your ability as one of the finest warriors of our country. A Villain whose name incites fear in the hearts of even the bravest and whose feats are well-known in the underworld. One of Japan's most powerful mercenaries, having defeated even the monstrous Cutting Edge, and accompl-"

"Doumoto, I do not wish for you to tell me what I already know." The words were sharp and clear, threatening in their alacrity. "I yearn for slumber and am beginning to hunger for food . . . and you know how that is, right?"

' _Can't think it is anything pleasant.'_ Untouchable fingered the thin blade in his trouser pockets, ready to pull it out at any moment.

Realising that she wanted to end things quickly, the sombre-faced man plunged his searching fingers into his inner shirt. "Jormungand . . . you may not remember but, one night, long ago in a shady bar in Musutafu, you'd told me about something you were searching for."

She went completely silent at the words, her lips tightening in a thin line. Her eyes were unreadable slits of crimson and onyx, resting upon the tinier man.

Doumoto pulled out a thinly rolled sheet from his inner coat and held it out to the woman. "And I am almost certain that I have found what you were looking for."

Jormungand's eyes flew completely wide at his words and she hesitantly forwarded the tip of her giant tail towards the man, reaching for the sheet.

But suddenly, she stopped midway.

As Doumoto blinked at her in confusion, she murmured with downcast eyes, "I apologise but I'm afraid . . . I can no longer let you live."

And before he could react, the giant tail was already reaching out towards him, coiling to crush his bones.

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**


	26. Ch 25 - Let the Sports Festival Begin!

**OP 2 – Tough and Alone by MYTH & ROID**

* * *

 **Chapter 25 – Let The Sports Festival Begin!**

 **(7** **th** **June, Monday, 8:34 a.m. – UA)**

"We _have_ to teach a lesson to those dratted 1-A brats."

Class 1-B was shrouded in thick darkness as the curtains were drawn over the windows, not letting a single sliver of sunlight enter. At the front corner of the classroom were three clustered desks around which sat a group of four students.

Suddenly, the class door slid open and blinding light flooded in from the hallways. "SHUT THAT DOOR!" screamed a bespectacled boy as he jumped to his feet, shielding his eyes from the light.

Helena stared at the dark classroom with a deadpan expression, taking her own time to shut the door behind her. "Seriously, President," her voice was exasperated, "don't you think this is too much?"

"Silence, Ice Princess!" She rolled her eyes before walking towards her desk, wondering if she wronged the higher powers to be assigned to such an abnormal class. "The darkness is necessary for us to facilitate our brainwork and think of a way to beat our destined rivals!"

"Y-Yes, President! As you say!" squeaked a tiny boy who sat beside the bald, bespectacled teenager. Helena stared at them with a stumped expression before mercilessly switching on the lights.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH, THE LIGHTS, THE LIGHTS!" The boy fell to the ground on his knees, shielding his eyes using the black cape he was wearing.

"President Ohtsuka!" His small assistant held him, violently shaking his shoulders. "Get a hold of yourself, President!"

Helena rolled her eyes in irritation and sitting down on her desk, opened a book. But her attention was garnered by a tall blond calling out for her from the group, who sat magnanimously with his arm wrapped around the back of a chair. "Good morning, Helena-san. Your face could use a smile at times, you know?"

She didn't look away from her novel as she quipped, "It does but I would prefer not to waste one on you, Unagi."

"Mou, Ryota-kun, Helena-chan has a boyfriend you know." Yawned a petite, chubby girl who sat beside the curly-haired blond, drowsily rubbing an eye. "Akane thinks you shouldn't hit on her."

Ryota Unagi turned around and stretched in his chair, flexing his strong muscles and long limbs. A handsome boy with golden curls, sun-kissed skin, intense russet eyes and athletic body climbing to its peak, there was no doubt as to his status as '1-B's Golden Heartthrob'. But cute little Akane Yoshida, whose short, chocolate locks were in a perpetually messy state, was one of the handful of girls in class immune to his charm.

"ANYWAY!" President Hayate Ohtsuka got up on his feet, smoothing the creases on his black cape. "WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT 1-A DURING THE SPORTS FESTIVAL! WE CANNOT LET THEM TAKE AWAY OUR LIMELIGHT FOREVER!" With his completely bald head, dark sunglasses and faint moustache, he looked more like an undercover adult than a high school teenager.

"Yes, President! You are completely right!" Tiny Reiji Honnouji pumped his small fist in the air, his mousy brown bowl cut shadowing his eyes.

"Instead of caring so much about the other class, we should practice more." Ryota got up from his seat and walked towards the windows, placing a hand on the dark curtains much to the protest of the President and his sidekick. Pulling the curtains away, he announced, "Otherwise, they're going to take away all of the Pros' gazes."

As light flooded into the room, Hayate's eyes widened behind his sunglasses and he sat on the floor with folded knees, head bowed. "Unagi-san, Yoshida-san, Darkwood-san!" Ryota raised an eyebrow, Akane tried to blink herself awake and Helena looked up from her book, annoyed. "As the Power Trio of our class, it is my earnest request to you to catapult us to Victory in the sports Festival! PLEASE!"

"PLEASE, GUYS!" Reiji bowed down beside his president, more earnest in his actions. The three students exchanged silent gazes, contemplating the situation for a few seconds. And coming to a unanimous decision, they nodded.

Akane, her bright blue eyes now fully open, shot a victory sign to the class representatives. "Don't worry, President and Vice-President! Akane will do her best! And with her luck, she'll definitely win!" Hayate and Reiji smiled tearfully at her.

"I don't know if I'll win or not but I don't plan on giving up without a fight." All four turned towards Helena, who had placed down her book as she shot them a small smile. "Besides, I have ideas to more or less formulate a decent plan to fight against 1-A."

"D-Darkwood-san!" Hayate bowed again, Reiji following suit. "Thank you . . . thank you so much!"

"That's right, guys." Ryota smirked at them, staring outside at the courtyard as he watched 1-A leave towards the gymnasium. "This Sports Festival . . . it's _our_ time to shine."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Hey, some of them are really good-looking!"

"Waaaaaaah, that guy's expressionless face is so handsome! He's so tall, too!"

"Isn't that Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods' daughter?! Check her out, she's even prettier in person!"

"That's Tetsuya Inori! So she really does go here! Will she, like, shake my hand?!"

"Hey, it's that guy from that once-famous Hero family! He seems pretty cool!"

Getting annoyed by the increasingly loud whispers and blatant glares shot their way, Ryo swerved around on his feet and yelled, "What the hell are you twats looking at?!" As sharp crystals threateningly jutted out of his wrists, the crowd of students yelped and moved back, most of them intimidated by the scary frown he sported. But after a few seconds, they continued whispering again.

"Look, that's the famous Villain Graviton's daughter! The one who was kidnapped last month!" Hoshi hesitantly smiled at their curious gazes before lowering her eyes, unpleasant nostalgia awakening inside her at their words.

"Woah, is that a lamia?! That's super cool! Never seen a Quirk like that before!" Kazumi's face shadowed as her tail stiffened, itching to crush the loud boy who had spoken the words.

"Eraserhead and Ms. Joke's kid really does look like a hybrid of both of them! Look at those cute freckles!" Koji smiled but unlike his usual mischievous grins, it was stretched taut.

"Why you fuckers . . .," Ryo's crystals increased in length but before he could shoot them out, a calm hand placed itself on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Kenshi-san." Akaname didn't flinch in the slightest as the raging boy violently slapped off his gloved hand, glaring at him with murder in his dark eyes. "Don't hurt them otherwise you may be expelled from the Sports Festival." Ryo gritted his teeth and growled but said nothing else before pulling away and marching on ahead of the group. Adjusting his glasses, Akaname fixed the now hushed and frightened gossip-mongers with a look of dry distaste before turning around and announcing, "Let's go, everyone. The more time we have for practice the better."

As most of his classmates nodded and followed after him, the other first years began thinning out and walking towards their own practice halls, disappointed that they couldn't see any of the famous 1-A's Quirks in action. But as the ground cleared out and most of them had returned into the buildings, a slender girl continued standing on the field and gazing after the Hero class, azure eyes fixed on a particular student.

As her friend watch the others leave, she tugged at her hand and whined, "Let's go, Sui! Provoking that mohawk-haired delinquent was a complete bust! We couldn't see any of them in action!" But even then, the girl refused to move or even blink, continuing to stare after them. "Sui, what _are_ you looking at?! We'll get late for practice!"

All that left her lips were the quiet words, "I finally found him, Yoriko-chan."

"Huh?" the taller girl tilted her head in confusion. "Found who?"

Sui's eyes slowly brightened even as Yasu disappeared behind the corner of the buildings, engaged in conversation with Kasai. Smiling widely, she finally looked at her friend and happily exclaimed, "I finally found the Elfin Prince who saved me!"

"That's Shimizu-san for you!" Meanwhile, Kenio finally found the voice to loudly whisper as they quickly trudged away from the school buildings and towards the back buildings, where the gymnasiums were situated. "Being president really suits him!"

"Though I do wonder why we're getting so much attention now," Aisen whispered back, curious. "We sometimes passed the other classes during our first months but they never scrutiriced us like this before!" Once they were out of view of all the wandering gazes, the blond finally felt his shoulders relax.

"It's probably . . . my fault, things are this way," Hoshi mumbled in a shaky voice, her usually bright smile growing sorrowful.

"You blame yourself too much for that, Fujita-chan. It's really not your fault." She looked up hopefully when Jigoku stepped in pace beside her, shooting her a playful wink. Looking ahead, he massaged his neck as he supplied, "I'm pretty sure it's all because of the Sports Festival. They're scouting out the competition."

"And for all of them, the biggest threats are the Hero course students; us and 1-B," Habiki added, rotating his aching shoulders. "Although due to the presence of well-known future Hero candidates like Tetsuya-san, Kanashimi-san and Nishiya-san, their focus is more geared towards us."

"Well, things are gonna fucking change, though." Ryo growled from the front of the group, turning back with a terrifying smile on his face. His eyes raking particularly over the mentioned three, Kazumi and Haruka, he announced, "Because I'm going to kick the ass of _every_ single one that gets in my way. The one who is going to be the Sports Festival Champion . . .," he stomped his foot down and thick, sharp crystals shot out of the ground as he pointed a thumb at himself, ". . . is gonna be me!"

But suddenly, something slammed against those crystals and shattered their tops into several pieces.

"Your delusionsssssss are going to be the end of you sssssomeday, Kensssssshi-ssssan." Ryo turned to curse at Kazumi but she whipped her tail threateningly in the air, dropping the crystal shards she'd held in its tip as she contemptuously smirked at him. "Your ssssssshallow sssssstrength issssss nothing compared to my true power."

As the others watched the increasing animosity between the two with tension, Fuma silently walked from between them and climbed up the few steps towards the gymnasium. However, before he walked in, he turned around and announced, "The ideals and sincerity that go into being a true Hero . . . most of you seem to lack them. But when I stand on the topmost podium, I wish for all of you to understand what being a true Hero means."

Kenio felt angry blood boil inside him at the words, his fists tightening and shaking at the frustrating words. However, he knew that to prove Fuma Kanashimi wrong, it would take the extreme best of everyone present to be able to stand up against the boy's shattering power.

But as he turned to step within the building, a hand grabbed the doorknob before he could.

"You're wrong, Fuma."

Crystalline eyes slightly widened as they stared at Inori's vapid face staring back at him, a rare fire burning behind her steel orbs. "You're wrong and I will defeat you to prove that. Because being a Hero . . .

. . . isn't only a one-directional path." And she threw open the door and rushed into the gymnasium, shooting a thumbs up at everyone behind her.

Ryo growled at the challenge as he rushed after her. "Like hell am I going to let you win, Princess Emotionless!"

"Well said, Tetsuya! I'm going to make Real Steel take me as an intern no matter what!" Jobu dashed inside as well.

"And I'm definitely going to mentor under Lemillion! Even if I collapse out of exhaustion at the Festival!" Kenio cried, kicking his legs up as high as he could to chase after the others.

"Please, PLEASE take me as your student, Ground Zero! I want to _officially_ train with you!" Kasai yelled out loud, almost praying as he went running.

"What do you mean by 'officially'?!" Asuna seemed shocked but that didn't stop her from rushing her feet. "And who would want to tutor under that megalomaniac brute when someone as wonderful as Shoto-sama exists?!"

"R-Red Riot . . . is-is the best!" Suzuran cried in the loudest voice she could muster as she pumped up her fist and ran after the brunette.

"~I wish Uravity wasn't pregnant but I'm hoping I can ask Deku-sensei and meet her!~" Hoshi skipped onwards, finally regaining her displaced cheer.

"I sure as heck don't know who I want but am I itching to beat some Villain rears!" In an unusual show of expression, even Yasu surged forward.

"Ingenium, I _will_ surpass you someday!" Reiko zipped into the building on her Ankle Wheels, ponytail flaring out after her.

And with the burst of adrenaline they'd received, everyone began yelling out their feelings and filtering in.

All of them rushed inside the gymnasium, excited feet stomping against the granite floors as they hurried towards the changing rooms. Because now that the Sports Festival was only a week away, the burden of officially debuting as young Heroes in public was in their own hands. It would be their performances that would decide whether they climbed the ranks as future Professionals or be forced to leave the Hero career forever.

And none of them were ready to leave the paths they'd put their souls into traversing.

 _All we had was one week to strengthen ourselves._

 _One week to show everyone that we were Heroes fit enough to protect the future._

* * *

 **(13** **th** **June, Sunday, 10:38 p.m. – UA)**

Once the dessert bowls had been cleaned and put away and she was comfortably nestled in Deku's arms on their favourite plush sofa, Ochako complained into his chest. "It's not fair you know, being unable to go see the Sports Festival this year." She pouted up at him with faux angry eyes, face pressed against his chest.

Laughing awkwardly, Izuku scratched his cheek with a scarred finger. "Just this year, Ochako, and you'll never have to miss any other Sports Festival. It's not safe for you and the baby, in case something happens."

"Hehhhhhhh, no one's been ever able to breach UA security and I don't think no one ever will," the brunette drawled, lazily throwing her arms around her husband's neck. Giggling, she added, "I'm just teasing you, Deku. Although I really wanted to see this year's students up close, I'll sit this one out."

Audibly sighing in relief, the freckled man patted her head. "Good girl, Ocha. Don't worry, you'll be able to see everything broadcasted clearly on television."

Nodding excitedly, she piped up, "Do you have a favourite for the winner, Deku-kun?"

Only when she could see a visible light switch turn on in his head did Ochako realise she had asked him a wrong question.

"Well," he's already begun mumbling, eyebrows furrowed deeply in thought, "I wouldn't call anyone my 'favourite' but theoretically speaking, there are some students I've got an eye on, who may win." As Izuku's brain shifted into overdrive mode and Ochako began regretting her question, he continued, "Out of everyone, I'd say Fuma-kun has pretty high chances of winning due to exuding both excellent control over his Quirk and the raw power of it. However," his words began lacing together faster, "I'd say most of the students in 1-A have a chance to win if they use their Quirks properly. Both Inori-chan and Kazumi-chan's Transformation and Mutant forms grant them highly boosted abilities and features which can help them take down anyone in terms of strength, even more so if they can control it. And in a battle of versatility, both Asuna-chan and Kenio-kun are nearly unmatched as they can use Gardening and ToonForce to create and defend against a multitude of attacks. Of course, we can also not ignore the fact that if they hone their skills and learn how to control their Quirks, Kasai-kun and Ryo-kun can easily overwhelm other opponents. And then there's Koji-kun and Kagami-chan, who can just one-shot others as long as they can hold themselves long enough in battle. If Aisen-kun regains his lost confidence, his Shine Burning may gave him an edge with its buffs and Reiko-chan can blitz through her opponents and knock them out before they can even react. Also, if she becomes proficient enough, Hoshi-chan can . . ."

"I shouldn't have asked, huh," the brunette sighed in exasperation as she collapsed against the couch, leaving her husband to his mumbling. However, before she could ask him to retire to bed, his cell phone suddenly began ringing.

" _~Aitte tanjunna mono nandesu nante utatteru baka wa doitsu da anomie ano-"_

"Yes, Hibari-san!" Deku and Ochako immediately straightened up, knowing from experience that it was rarely good news when the Inspector called. They could already feel an ominous tension begin to settle in the room.

"Sorry to disturb you this late, Midoriya," the man spoke softly on the other side of the phone, sounding almost dead with exhaustion. "But if this wasn't so important, I wouldn't have called."

Izuku's stomach dropped at the intensity in those words as he asked, "What happened?"

"There was a murder." Ochako anxiously watched as her husband's eyes slightly widened and his lips straightened into a grim line. "Now, if this had been a usual murder case, our police force would've taken care of it. But this time, it looks like we must depend on the Pros for help."

"Why?" his throat turned dry as he voiced out the question.

Without skipping a beat, Hibari continued, "The victim was a former UA student, Awase Aki." Izuku's shaking fingers almost dropped his cell phone but, unfortunately for him, the Inspector hadn't finished his sentence yet. "But the thing is, it seems that her murderer doesn't intend to stop at her."

Deku tightened the grip on his phone. "What do you mean by that?"

The older man sighed once more before softly mumbling, "I'll send you the location of the murder site. Just . . . quickly get here please, Deku."

* * *

 **(13** **th** **June, Sunday, 11:54 p.m. – Sunrise Park)**

"Who knew Aki-san had fallen so low . . . ?"

She didn't care about the creaking of the swing chains as there was not a soul to be seen in the large park; the slides, swings and merry-go-rounds looked sad to be deserted but to her, the quiet was beautiful. It was needed so that she could reflect on the events that had just transpired.

The young girl gently patted the bleeding scratches on her lower waist which had resulted from Aki trying to defend herself in the throes of her death. It was a good thing she had been prepared beforehand to carry minor medical supplies with her.

But who knew Awase Aki had actually dropped out of UA after that incident? It came as a surprise because she had always been so close to her other two tormentors, the three bullies always gaggling about how they would one day become the best Heroes of their generation.

 _( "But you . . . you are only suited to be a Villain." Cold crimson eyes filled with hatred and disgust stared at her as she twisted her arm in a painful hold._

" _That disgusting Quirk of yours . . . you can only be a Villain." )_

". . . Looks like you were absolutely right, Shihoko-san."

Dry lips quirked up in a shattered smile as the girl stopped swinging, the creaks dying down.

"I can only be a Villain."

* * *

 **Hero Name: Ground Zero**

 **Quirk: Explosion**

 **Explosion allows Ground Zero to excrete sweat similar to nitro-glycerine from his palms and ignite it at will to create various explosions.**

 **P.S: Ground Zero is the Hero who has defeated the most number of high-profile Villains in all of Japan.**

* * *

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 6:59 a.m. – Nishiya Household)**

 _( "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! YOU MONSTER! I'LL TELL RYUKYU-SENSEI!"_

 _Asuna watched through blurry eyes as the boys ran screaming away towards the classroom, leaving her and her black-haired saviour alone in the sandbox. The brunette was a mess as her kindergarten uniform had been ripped in several places by Yuusaku and his gang and one of her twin drills had been pulled open. But before they could continue-_

" _Are you okay?"_

 _The girl with the short, black curls was staring at her with a faintly worried gaze – Tetsuya Inori, daughter of some famous Pro Hero her parents always talked about. Asuna hadn't liked the girl for her emotionless face ever since the first day of kindergarten but now . . ._

 _She smiled at her, snot dripping down her nose. "Thank you . . . Inori-chan." With a huge, black claw, she'd chased off those bullies and saved her. Just like a Prince saved their Princess in her favourite stories._

 _Asuna felt inexplicably happy when the girl smiled softly at her. "You're welcome, Asuna." )_

Asuna's eyes snapped open as her alarm clock rung loudly, filling her room with echoing reverberations.

"Why . . . this dream?"

She violently slammed the clock shut, heart beating heavily at the memories of a decade ago. Although the Sports Festival was to officially begin at ten a.m., she'd decided to wake up a little early and get some extra practice done. But now . . .

 _( "Why won't you talk to me, Inori?!"_

 _The grey eyes that turned to her were not her friend's. They were cold and absolutely empty . . . like a Monster's._

" _You're weak, Asuna. And . . . I don't want a weak person in my life." )_

The brunette gritted her teeth and clenched her head, wishing the disturbing memories would fade. "No . . . I've got to get a grip . . . I'M NOT HER SIDEKICK ANYMORE, DAMMIT!" She hurled her covers to the floor, breathing heavily as her fingers tightened against the bed sheet, turning red.

"I'm strong . . . one of the strongest . . ."

Sweat dripped down her nose despite the cold temperature in the room.

"And I'll prove it to her and everyone else . . ."

* * *

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 9:17 a.m. – UA)**

"~This is going to be so chaotic I can feel it in my bones, huhuhuhu.~"

Mashiro skipped in the front line as 1-A made their way to the waiting room before the beginning of the Sports Festival, everyone (except Suzuran) completely ignoring Akaname's persistent cries of forming a straight row. Kasai, who lounged at the back of the group, sighed depressively, "I completely forgot we have to fight in our PE Uniforms. Which means I can't use my gauntlets . . ."

Yasu patted his back comfortingly, quoting in his deadpan, "When one doesn't have gauntlets, one should light them up with his lighter." The respirator boy shot a withered look at him before slouching forward, wondering when he'd be able to use his Ground Zero-inspired gear in battle. _'There goes my chance to impress him . . .'_

Kenio, who was feeling a mixed turmoil of excitement and nervousness churn in his stomach, chirped, "Are you excited, Inori-san?! We'll be fighting with everything we've got in front of some of the best Heroes of Gen Y!" At the mere thought of Lemillion and Creati watching him, his eyes sparkled with the determination to give it his all, and hopefully, win the Champion's title.

Inori shook her head in a very mechanical way, replying robotically, "I am rather excited."

"You're okay, right?" The ginger worriedly asked, noticing her slightly red cheeks. "Is your stomach rumbling or something?"

She shook her head with short, violent jerks before iterating in her signature monotone, "I. Am. Fine. Really." _'But the thing is . . . Deku-sensei will be watching, won't he? I need to do my best in front of him . . .'_ As her cheeks darkened, Kenio got even more worried.

"God, he's pathetic," Ryo grumbled as he turned around to distastefully glare at the freckled boy fussing over the oblivious girl. As he was about to face forward, he caught someone's eyes on him. _'Hmm?'_ However, as soon he caught the perpetrator's gaze in his own, Suzuran flinched and quickly looked away, skittering behind the tree bitch.

' _What the fuck is that spider loli's problem?'_ Ryo growled to himself as he scratched his head, frustrated and confused. If he even tried to ask her, she would most probably faint from fear and he would definitely get into trouble. _'And damn . . . after I almost broke my skull saving her . . .'_

Suzuran felt tears approach her eyes at her cowardice, feeling aggravated at her inability to even meet gazes with Ryo; after everything he'd done for her. _'I'm really pathetic, just like mother used to say,'_ her lip quivered as her small hands clenched down upon her blue track pants. _'I still haven't thanked Kenshi-san for saving me that day . . . I'm so useless . . .'_

"Kanashimi-san." Meanwhile, in the front lines, Fuma became a little surprised when Akaname fell into step beside him and talked with a friendly look in his eyes. "I realised I haven't congratulated you for being selected as the student speaker for the Festival's opening. But I'd like to tell you that our class is proud of you as the representative."

Fuma was no fool – he was well aware that many of his classmates couldn't stand him and his firm views about Hero society. But Shimizu Akaname was one of the few sensible students in class and the only one he would respect as their class President. "Thank you, Shimizu-san," he gave the shorter male a brief nod, face as grave as ever. "It is encouraging to hear you say that."

"You're welcome, Kanashimi-san." The bespectacled male looked a little taken aback but nonetheless pleased that he had been replied to. Fuma noticed a smile under his mask as he continued, "I will be honest and admit that I am a little excited to listen to your speech."

Turning forward, the dark-haired male asked, "Tell me, Shimizu-san . . . what are your thoughts on Heroes?"

Akaname faced forward as well, noting that the waiting room was just at the end of the corridor. "If I had to be precise in wording it . . . for me, Heroes are beacons of light who form the groundwork for guiding us to the good and protecting us from evil," he truthfully replied.

Fuma closed his eyes, unable to control the small smirk that erupted on his face. "I see . . .," he opened them as they walked into the waiting room, and turned to Akaname with a sombre expression. "Once upon a time . . . I would've completely agreed with your views." The pink-haired boy raised a curious eyebrow as the jade-haired boy sighed and spoke in a voice full of sadness, "But now, I must show you and everyone . . . that your views are wrong."

"Welcome, 1-A! We'd been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"

All of the twenty students watched with confused gazes at the cloaked figure who stood in front of them, turning even more confused when he pushed away his black cloak and turned to fully face them. "I am the Class President of 1-B, Ohtsuka Hayate!" The bald male adjusted his black Aviators and some of the students were almost blinded as the ceiling lights got reflected off his shaved head. "We may have never met in person before but I've always been eagerly watching all of you!" Half of 1-A immediately made disgusted expressions at his words and Suzuran was so unnerved that she hid behind Asuna.

"Oi, President, you're scaring them!"

"Ewww, President, you're a stalker?!"

"Stop acting so damn creepy, Prez."

"Kyaaaah, Yukiji-kun, Prez is scaring me!"

"Don't worry, Honami-chan! I'll protect you from him!"

"Oh, Yukiji-kun!"

"My dear Honami-chan!"

"OI, YOU ALL, SHUT THE HELL UP! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M TRYING TO INTIMIDATE THEM?!" Unfortunately, no one listened to President Hayate, who honestly looked too old to be a high school freshman with all the fuzz located above his lips and on his chin. As he tried to scream and stop his class from making fun of him and talking amongst themselves, even 1-A was beginning to feel sorry for him.

"~I feel bad for him~," Hoshi murmured, staring at him with pity-filled eyes as 1-A ignored the commotion and began walking further in to their designated seating.

"Let him be, Fujita-san," Asuna sweat-dropped, feeling irritated at his loud yelling. "He's embarrassed himself enough." _'Gosh, but what pitiful control he has for a president . . .'_

However, before Akaname could lead them all away, an extremely good-looking figure suddenly appeared in front of them.

"I apologise for our President's actions and I hope we did not annoy all of you too much." Reiko, Kagami, Suzuran and Asuna could not help noting how handsome the boy with the golden curls was – and from the squealing of the girls in 1-B, it was apparent they thought the same. With a confident smile, he offered a hand to Akaname and introduced, "Unagi Ryota. It's a pleasure to finally be able to meet 1-A face-to-face."

Although his voice was pleasant and he was smiling behind his surgical mask, the pinkette certainly did not let his guard down. "Shimizu Akaname, the President of Class 1-A," he replied, firmly shaking Ryota's hand with his gloved one. "We are glad to meet you too, Unagi-san, and of course, the rest of 1-B as well." Many students of both classes exchanged glances and acknowledging smiles.

"Akane is looking forward to battling against 1-A!" Ryota sighed as the bubbly brunette pushed him aside and began shaking hands with a surprised Akaname. Then, realising something, she waved at him and the rest of the class while chirping, "Name's Yoshida Akane! Akane and Shimizu-kun share similar names, don't we?" The chubby girl flashed a row of pearly teeth at the boy.

"Uhhhhhhh . . . yes, we certainly do." Composing himself, he nodded at her. "Nice to meet you too, Yoshida-san." She seemed to be rather happy with the greeting.

"Oi, you damn losers!" Ryo marched to the front, yelling in irritation. "If you're all done with your fuckery, can we get a fucking seat?!"

"Kenshi-san, _language_!" Akaname hissed, turning around to glare at him.

"Potty mouth has a point even though he could've been less crass about stating it." Aisen, who'd been searching for his girlfriend ever since he'd entered the room, began beaming as Helena emerged from the back with a book slinging from her hands. A feral growl escaped Ryo's throat but Aisen had latched onto his girlfriend before the former delinquent could cuss in retort.

"Found you, Lena!" The blond grinned as he squished his cheek against her, uncaring of the fact that they were in public. As Ryo gagged in the background, Helena patted her boyfriend's head and briefly smiled.

"Oh, so _this_ is your boyfriend, Darkwood-san." Aisen looked up at the contemptuous tone and was briefly confused at the look of mockery in Ryota's eyes. The tall blond smirked as he said, "Well, he's certainly . . . _cute_. Pfft."

' _Did he just . . . PFFT ME?'_ The lavender-eyed boy was momentarily shocked into silence but Helena quickly jumped to his defence, icily stating, "He's the most important person in the universe to me, Unagi. And I will _not_ tolerate you talking about or to him in that mocking tone."

Although initially left speechless, Aisen happily cried, "Lena, I love you!" and proceeded to embrace her again.

"~Ooooooooooohhhhh, do I sense a love triangle here~?" Mashiro whispered from the back of the group, enjoying the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Maybe but Blondie really pisses me off for some reason," Jigoku gritted through a clenched smile, hands fisted.

"Well, they do say two foxes can never get along," Koji snickered, sweetly smiling at the irritated glower the horned boy flashed him.

"Oh no, I did not mean to insult your boyfriend in any way, Darkwood-san," Ryota smirked, bowing at the pouting Aisen who still had his arms wrapped around Helena. "Forgive me if I sounded contemptuous in any way . . . _Yuki_ -san, was it?"

"Unagi! Darkwood!" Hayate, who had somehow gained control of his class, called for them. "Stop chattering around and join us!" Both teens affirmed in unenthusiastic voices.

"Well then, I must respond to President otherwise he'll begin nagging me again." Helena gently unwrapped Aisen's arms from around her neck before winking at him. "See you later, Brave Man. Do your best." The blond blushed and grinned back at her, watching as she and the curly-haired boy walked away.

"~Hmmmmmm," Aisen did not notice Mashiro approaching him before the boy had spoken. "Hele-chi and Ryota-chi look kind of cute together, ne?~"

"WHAT!" Fuming, the lavender-eyed boy glared at his taller classmate. "What are you saying, Madou! Lena loves ME – she'd never fall for that sunshine-dipped Jon Snow!"

"I don't know, Yuki-kun," Koji surrounded him from the other side, slinging an arm around him as Mashiro nodded to the freckled boy's musings. "Ice Princess and Handsome Jock pairings seems to be a running trend amongst youngsters these days. Besides, he's a few good inches taller than her . . . you'd better watch out for Mr. Jock stealing your Elsa away."

Left speechless and mentally shattered at the sentence, Aisen turned with a gaping mouth as he stared at Helena and Ryota and noticed that . . . she was actually taking _interest_ in whatever he was talking about.

"Nooooooo . . . Lena . . . ," Aisen murmured, squatting down and rocking on his heels. Koji and Mashiro snickered at each other and exchanged discreet hi-fives.

Habiki shook his head and sighed, "Really, you both . . . did you have to do this before the Sports Festival?"

As 1-A went on with their usual conversations and banter, making themselves comfortable in their chairs and waiting for the opening announcement, Kenio felt someone tap on his shoulder. As he looked back, however, he flinched when he realised the one to call for his attention was none other than Nishiya Asuna, whose magenta eyes stared at him with glowering anger in them.

"Y-Yes, Nishiya-san?" He inwardly cursed himself for stuttering, unable to understand why he felt so nervous. He'd talked to her before but couldn't recall any reason he'd given her to warranty such a simpering glare.

"Please come with me for a moment, Nakamura-san. And don't give me no for an answer, I pray." She flipped a twintail over her shoulder and strode off in the other direction, away from the chattering students and towards a reclusive end of the waiting room. Kenio stared at her back in confusion for a few seconds before nervously gulping and following after, slowly marching onto his wit's end and wondering what exactly it was he'd done.

Inori watched the duo separate but before she could think anything of it, she was pulled by Koji and Mashiro into conversation.

The brunette and the ginger walked to the corners of the large space, making disgusted expressions at a 1-B couple that were busy smooching before distancing themselves from them. Crossing her arms, Asuna leaned against the wall and quirked an eyebrow at the somewhat nervous boy in front of her. "Nakamura-san," Kenio felt a shudder travel down his spine at her flat tone, "There is something I'd like to ask you. And I'd request you be honest with your answer."

Kenio, although tense, was not so tense that he'd lost logic of his wits. ". . . That depends on what you'll ask, Nishiya-san." He tried to sound as firm as he could, tightening his fists and meeting her stare head on.

Asuna, contrary to his thoughts, did not burst out at his retort. Instead, in a drily cold tone, she flatly asked, ". . . Do you have feelings for Inori?"

 _THUD._

". . . W-Wha . . .?" The question baffled him so much that he couldn't event coherently form words.

 _THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD._

Kenio stared at her with such a blank face, mouth drawn in a small 'o' and eyes bulging, that Asuna shook her head, standing up from her leaning posture. ". . . Well, that's enough to answer my question." He tried to protest but she began walking with a smirk on her face, patting his shoulder in a contemptuous way as she passed him by. "Best of luck with your feelings but there's only one thing I want to tell you."

Her fingers tightened on his shoulder blade as she spoke, deadly serious:

"Give up on her, Nakamura-san . . . otherwise she'll end up destroying you."

Kenio whipped around to stare at her but his questions died in his throat as he saw Inori standing behind, her eyes shifting from him to Asuna. The brunette looked disgustedly at her before stalking off with more force in her footsteps, chest puffed out. Once she was back amongst her friends, Inori turned from her and looked back at him again. "Kenio." He squealed at her and shifted uncomfortably, flushing up. ". . . You're red. What did Asuna tell you?"

"I-I-I-I-Inori-san!" he somehow managed to stutter out, backing up against the wall and grinning awkwardly. "I-I-I . . . G-Good morning!"

"We have already exchanged greetings this morning, Kenio." She tilted her head and stared at him with blank, grey eyes. "What did Asuna say?"

"A-A-Ah, yes, yes we have! Ahahahaha!" He scratched the back of his head, internally screaming at his heart to slow down. "W-Well . . . Ni-Nishiya-san you ask?!" She nodded at him, patiently waiting. "I-I-It's nothing! Really . . . she just . . . she just challenged me for the Sports Festival!"

Inori stared at him without a trace of an expression on her face, looking so deep into his eyes that he wanted to claw through the walls and disappear into a hole. Then she looked over her shoulder to stare at the mentioned girl and nodded. "Well, that sounds like Asuna, alright." Kenio almost collapsed with relief, happy that she had bought his lie. "Come then, let's get back to everyone else," she called and he straightened, nodding robotically.

But even as they returned and joined the others, engaging in excited conversation about the ticking down to the start of the Festival, the words Asuna had just said were firmly emblazoned into the ginger's mind.

" _. . . she'll end up destroying you."_

' _Just why . . .,'_ he clenched the front of his shirt, feeling a strange surge of emotions, _'. . . did Nishiya-san say something like that?'_

"STUDENTS! LINE UPPPPPPPPPPP!"

The doors to the waiting room slammed open and all of the forty first years jumped to their feet, hands pressed straight against their sides. Present Mic and Eraserhead stood in the doorway, the former grinning at them with white teeth brightly shining.

"GET OUT THERE, ALL OF YOU!" He raised a hand outwards as the teens excitedly stumbled themselves into their class lines, hearts thundering against their chests. "IT'S TIME TO PRESENT YOURSELVES FOR THE SPORTS FESTIVAL!"

* * *

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 9:48 a.m. – UA)**

"Dammit! Couldn't you get better seats, you damn Half-and-Half?!"

"These are the best ones in the whole auditorium, No. 2."

"Who you calling No. 2, you damn No. 3?!"

"You forget I was No. 2 last month, No. 2."

"Can the two of you please calm down, Shoto-san and Katsuki-san?!" Momo felt embarrassed at having to chide two thirty-year olds for fighting amongst each other like teenagers. Katsuki growled and turned to face away from Shoto, who nonchalantly faced forward, watching the UA flags unfurl and the marching band take a round of the giant stage. Large plasma screens were fixed at twelve angles around the whole arena, showcasing cameras that were located in different sites where the first and second qualifiers would take place.

"Calm down, Katsu-chan," Tsuyu patted her husband's cheek, who simmered down a little at her comforting smile. "We're going to get the best view of the whole festival." Indeed, a high-raised section had been remodelled for the VIP audience which could seat around a hundred people.

"Oi, guys!" The four of them turned to the familiar voice and waved at the incoming figures. "Sorry, we're late!"

Eijiro, Mina and Tenya exchanged greetings with their former classmates as they seated themselves, the pink-haired woman holding a little baby in her hands. "Ah, Eichi-kun has grown a little from the last time I saw him!" Momo squealed at the drowsy baby, who had inherited his mother's pink hair and his father's light skin. Mina giggled at her as she adjusted her son in her arms, fixing the plastic nipple he was sucking on.

"I know, right?! I can't believe he'll be turning 2 soon!" She grinned, already having lost most of the weight that had accompanied her with her pregnancy. While the three women cooed at the baby, the men engaged themselves in other topics.

"Your crazy wife isn't here?" Katsuki asked his bespectacled friend, looking around for the obsessive brunette who would always somehow manage to insult him whenever they met.

"Unfortunately, Mei received orders for some suits from the Association itself," Tenya replied, wiping off the summer sweat from his temples. As a child he had always been athletic and well-built but as an adult, he'd shot up even more in height and gained a mass of thick muscles on his chest and biceps that easily rivalled Deku and Ground Zero's. However, to his former classmates' repulse, he had developed an obsession for Chevron moustaches and always kept his neatly trimmed and styled, despite everyone complaining he looked horrible with it. The only one who seemed to adore it was his wife.

"Man, I didn't know the Association was personally giving orders for Hero suits these days. I can never understand what those top dogs are thinking," Eijiro sighed, leaning back against his seat beside Katsuki. In the muscle department, he was as qualified as his former classmates and was thickly packed on his chest, back and limbs. He'd also gone for a neater spiky cut compared to his student days and as an adult, had begun dying his hair a darker shade of crimson. Also, unlike Tenya, Eijiro's circle beard suited him well.

"As long as they fucking stay out of my business, I don't give a shit about what those motherfuckers do." Katsuki snorted, airing his black T-shirt to stave off the heat.

"If my son grows up to have a potty mouth, I'll be whopping you, Katsuki!" Mina yelled over from the other side, barely affecting the ash blond.

Staring at his watch, Shoto looked over everyone's heads at the VIP entryway – some other Heroes he was familiar with but rarely conversed with had already seated themselves. However, there was no sign of their other classmates. "Aren't Kyouka-san and the others late?"

"Just a second! I'll contact her right away." Handing the little baby back to Mina, Momo began digging through her purse for her phone. But just as she was bringing it out, it slipped through her fingers and plunged towards the ground.

"Oh n-!"

Thankfully, a pair of slim, pale fingers grabbed it before the screen could smash against the ground.

"Thank you so much!" The raven-head brightly smiled at the dark-haired figure, watching the cute way the cats ears on top of his head twitched at her words. "You really saved my phone!"

"Neow problem, Ms. Creati!" The boy looked at her with glimmering emerald eyes and a sweet smile, his black tail whipping behind him. "Meow am always glad to help Heroes, nyah!"

* * *

 **ED 2 – Superman by Crystal Kay**

* * *

 **Pinky: TT-TT Finally . . . THE FIRST SEASON OF GZ IS OFFICIALLY OVERRRRRRRR!**

 **Kasai: Does that mean you'll be taking a hiatus for some time?!**

 **Pinky: Nah, kiddo, worry not. If I take a hiatus after every season, this story's gonna take a decade to end. ^b^; Besides, I already sort of took one for two months . . .**

 **Kasai: YES! THAT MEANS I CAN IMPRESS GROUND ZERO SOON! *w***

 **Pinky: . . . Well, if that's what you think. :)**

 **Kasai: N-Nani?! W-Why're you smirking like that, Pinky?!**

 **Pinky: It's just your imagination, twerp. :) I am completely normal.**

 **Kasai: OO; I-I'm kind of freaking out now . . .**

 **Pinky: It's too early for you to do that, kiddo. Also, if you guys want to check out some cool original tunes, original art, amazing playlists, a cute Pinterest board and an exciting Kazumi spin-off for GZ, be sure to go to the links on my profile! QwQ I'm telling you, I have the BEST and MOST TALENTED readers on this site!**

 **1-A: SEE YOU NEXT SEASON, EVERYONE!**


	27. Ch 26 - Tag, Catch the Fly!

**OP 3 – Anomie by Amazarashi**

* * *

 **Chapter 26 – Tag, Catch The Fly!**

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 9:57 a.m. – UA)**

As the large doors swung open and they took their first steps into the gigantic arena, the screaming cheers shook through the nervous cores of all of the UA first years.

Akaname, back ramrod straight, squared up his shoulders as he led his class on a half-round procession of the large arena, surrounded by other class Presidents on either side. As eccentric as he was, 1-B's Hayate Ohtsuka strode forward confidently with grim authority radiating off his posture. Looking at him from the corner of his glance, Akaname drew in a deep breath to calm his shaking nerves, determined to make sure his class would have a good first impression on all the viewers.

"Can we please have an immense round of applause for our budding UA freshmen!" Everyone squinted their eyes in the direction of the speaker; and, standing on a grand podium with her signature dazzling smile, was none other than Japan's second strongest female Hero. As the crowds roared louder and screamed their hearts out, Battle Fist pumped a giant fist in the air, filling the atmosphere with her charisma and energy. "YES! The UA Sports Festival is finally about to commence!"

While some felt their feet leaden with fear, exhilaration and competition pumped through the veins of many as all the classes aligned in straight rows before the announcement podium. Principal Nezu, Eraserhead and Battle Fist stared at the over hundred students before the former walked towards the much-shortened microphone.

"Good morning, dear students and citizens of Musutafu! UA welcomes you to the opening of its annual Sports Festival!" Cheers filled the air a second time as the pumped up audience vibrated with palpable energy, enthusiastic to see Japan's best Hero school in action. "We know all of you are excited to get this festival started but before we do, we'd like to call the 1st year students' representative, Kanashimi Fuma, to open us with a short speech!"

The students clapped politely as the sombre teen steadily climbed up the podium steps, his family name ringing the bells for many. On the VIP seats, Mina pushed a bottle of milk into little Eichi's mouth as she commented, "That boy . . . he's from _that_ family, isn't he?"

"Yes." Tenya was the one to reply, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "The Kanashimi family . . . or The Emotional Trio, as they were more popularly known." Sighing, he added, "A pity . . . what happened to them."

As the boy on the stage adjusted his microphone to his tall stature, Shoto murmured, "Maybe he'll use that pain to spur himself on the path he's taking. This boy . . .," he tilted his head, working eye twinkling, "I'm rather interested in seeing how he performs." Katsuki rolled his eyes at the words before shifting his gaze across the many students, unobtrusively excited to watch the performance of a certain blue-haired boy.

As Fuma felt his breath wash over the cool steel, he braced all his feelings and closed his eyes, going over the practiced words in his mind one last time.

 _( Three graves lay side-by-side and before them stood a young boy, gripping a bouquet of dead flowers in his small, trembling hands. )_

". . . Who are Heroes?"

The simple, severe question sent an unspoken wave of sobriety through all that heard it.

As Fuma made the stage his own, no one was able to take their eyes off him for several moments. "To some of us, they're beacons of light; to some of us, they are idols of justice; to some of us, they are guides of morality." The words flowed out of him naturally, as if he were pouring these thoughts straight out of the cauldron of his heart. "But for almost all of us, Heroes are figures of idealisation and greatness, figures we admire and reach out to for safety and guidance, figures we depend on to differentiate right from wrong. No one can deny that all of us have a Hero we idealise close to our hearts, a Hero we wish to emulate and push ourselves to become like, someone who spurns us forward when we've given up on ourselves."

Inori, Kenio, Kasai, Asuna, Suzuran, Jobu . . . although everyone could relate to Fuma's words, they were the few who strongly resonated with the sentence and felt it tighten something within themselves.

". . . But that does not mean that our Heroes cannot become corrupted."

Audible gasps were heard from both the audience and the rows of students before the podium – some of the first years even yelled out angry denials, feeling offended. But unbothered as ever, the boy continued, "No matter how bright and pure a light burns, shadows always loom around it as a threat to corrupt its glow . . . and sometimes, these shadows succeed. Even the most just of Heroes become corrupt and fall into the dark abyss of villainy and evil, foregoing the light of justice they had sworn to shine on everyone. They become the very demons they strove to protect the innocent from and revel in the destruction they'd always sought to prevent."

Eraserhead shifted his gaze to Nezu, silently asking if he should stop the boy. But the aging male made no movement and continued staring at the tall teen's confident back.

"And which is why, we need Heroes who are unbreakable in their beliefs." Fuma fixed his smouldering eyes upon each and every face, eliciting the firmness of his heart. "Heroes with not only physical but mental strength; ones who cannot be lured away from the path of justice and righteousness. Heroes who will side with the good and protect the innocent even at the cost of their beliefs and their souls, ones who are ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of bettering this ravaged world."

His right palm gripped around the microphone as he breathed out:

"What we need is a new generation of Heroes who are prepared to lose their own selves in order to become the embodiment of this justice. And by winning this competition, I shall show everyone what the true path to becoming such a Hero is. Thank you."

As he gave a short bow and walked down the stage, the whole arena seemed to have been silenced into shock at the teenager's words. Even the few polite claps quickly died down but as he rejoined his class line, Fuma remained unperturbed at the angry stares and accusatory whispers.

Brightly grinning, Battle Fist did her best to salvage the situation. "W-Well then! Thank you for the philosophical speech, Kanashimi Fuma-kun!" Enlarging her fists, Monoma Itsuka pumped them to enliven the audience as she announced, "And now, with our opening speech done, it's finally time to get down to the first event of the Sports Festival!"

"FINALLY!" Ryo and Jobu were the loudest of the students to yell, both excited to take on the other and finally finish their interrupted duel.

The large screens located around the arena buzzed to life and the students realised that the very ground they stood on was showcased on the screens; the only change being that the one on the screen had been partitioned into four different areas by tall, raised constructs of cement. Battle Fist explained, "All of the 140 students will be divided into four arenas each on this very battleground and pitted against each other for . . . A GAME OF TAG!"

Habiki groaned in pain as Reiko screamed in elation, shouting, "YES! I'VE GOT THIS IN THE FUCKING BAG!"

"However, this game of tag comes with a little twist!" Grinning, Itsuka pointed her large right fist towards the screen and everyone noted with confusion and dread as they stared at a group of golden flies buzz across the different arenas on screen. Some of the entomophobes shuddered and screeched at the sight but as Inori stared closely, one of the gold-coloured flies appeared right on the camera lens and stared straight at it, fluttering its translucent metallic wings.

"With thirty five students in each area, we will be releasing eight mechanical flies into each quarter and your job is to be the one to capture one of them!" As the implications of her statement seeped cold fear and nervousness in them, she elaborated, "Only eight students from each area will be allowed to pass into the second round of the Sports Festival! Which means, out of a 140 participants, a 108 of you will be filtered out in the first round itself!"

Nervous glares of fear and heated gazes of competition were exchanged amongst all as they realised that not only would it be a competition between classes, but a competition between classmates as well. The realisation that all of them would be left to their own abilities was a cold feeling that clawed away at one's self-esteem and for people like Suzuran and Aisen, it was becoming harder to muster up courage.

"There are only five rules to follow! No deliberately hurting anyone, no wreckage of the arena walls, no sneaking into another area, no destroying the robot flies and no hoarding more than one for yourself!" Many of the smart students understood the unsaid insinuations behind her words but kept their thoughts to themselves. "Other than these, you are free to use your Quirk and your abilities in any way possible and utilise their full potentials to make a qualify!"

The close-up video was replaced by a black screen which showcased the division of students into each of the four arenas. Everyone immediately began scouring through them for their names, fearful of who they may be pitted against.

"Please move into the corresponding direction according to your area! North for Area A, East for Area 2, South for Area 3 and West for Area 4! We will be commencing the First Round shortly!"

Amongst the jittery students, Aisen read with inhuman speed through all the names, searching for his own. And then he finally found it nestled between two familiar names, whose mentions weakened his legs and heated up his beating heart.

". . . Nishiya Asuna . . . Yuki Jack . . .," he read with trembling lips, wiping at his eyes. ". . . Enoshima Kazumi . . ."

Even before they'd begun, he felt the upcoming loss rip his heart into tiny shreds.

Meanwhile, Kenio felt his face light up as he saw two familiar names below his own. "Inori-san, Hitori-kun, we're in the same area!" The raven-head stared up at the list, completely silent as Kenio swung Kasai's hand around in excitement, the blue-haired boy smiling shyly behind his mask.

' _This time . . . I'M GOING TO BEAT (THE SHIT OUT OF) HIM!'_ Ryo and Jobu turned towards each other with gritted teeth, exchanging maniacal smiles. Suzuran, who was in the same area as them, shook with slight trepidation while Kagami and Habiki exchanged worried glances, knowing they were in for a massacre.

"Don't you dare hurt Fujita-san, Fuma!" Asuna pulled the oblivious girl to her chest, glaring daggers at the aforementioned boy before swerving towards Haruka, who stood beside him. "And you too, Itou-san!" Both boys stared at her like she was crazed but said nothing.

"~I'll be fine, Asu-chi~," Hoshi patted the brunette's arms, smiling optimistically. "~I've practiced hard all these weeks and I'm going to give it my all!~"

Various exchanges took place between all of the students as they walked towards their designated positions, guided by arrows and markers that separated the areas. Jumping down from her podium, Battle Fist grabbed her mike and announced, "Cementoss-sensei, please do the honours!"

Cheers rang through the gathered crowd as the stocky, kindly man arrived to the arena, holding his usual aura of stateliness. The four groups of nervous, excited and fearful students watched from their designated corners as Cementoss walked to the centre of the ground. Raising a hand in the air, he yelled, "Stand back, everyone! Or you may . . ."

He smashed his palms to the ground. ". . . End up getting hurt!"

Gigantic blocks of cement erupted out of the ground, shooting skywards as they spread over the area in a four-walled structure. Although Cementoss' raw power was common knowledge, it was an awe-filled sight for most students to see incredibly tall, powerful walls break through the hard ground and block the four groups from each other, spreading towards the edge of the arena to essentially cage everyone in. Cementoss did not stop until the walls were about thirty meters high, towering over even the lower audience seats and throwing an impenetrable barrier around the students.

"Alright, thank you Cementoss-sensei!" The man gave a short bow before retreating into the judges' area, letting Battle Fist take centre stage again. "Now that the stage has been set, it's finally time to set the prizes free!" Four suited staff members approached each area gripping large suitcases in their hands and the students eyed the black belongings warily as they were placed on the ground.

Once the staff members had retreated, all the screens lit up with cameras that showed close-ups of the students, displaying their anxious expressions in high quality.

"Now that the rules have been set down and the stage has been arranged, it's time for us to finally get down to the 1st round of the UA Sports Festival!" A countdown clock appeared on the largest screen and began ticking down from ten. "As soon as the screen displays zero, the insects will be released and the thirty two students to capture them in each area will be able to qualify for the second round!"

 **10!**

' _This time . . . I'm going to fight with all I've got!'_ Hoshi activated her gravity field, her blue curls flowing above her head.

 **9!**

' _The one who's gonna win this . . . IS ME!'_ Ryo crackled his knuckles, crystals inching out of his wrists.

 **8!**

' _Shit, shit, shit, calm down . . . calm down, heart!'_ Aisen gripped the shirt over his chest, gnashing his teeth together. _'I've got to keep it together or else . . .!'_

 **7!**

' _I'll win this. No matter who gets in my way.'_ Haruka braced his legs, powering up the generators in his metal soles.

 **6!**

' _It's time to prove who holds_ _ **true**_ _power in this class.'_ Kazumi licked her lips as bright scales began spreading over her face and arms, her body slowly enlarging in size.

 **5!**

' _Ground Zero . . . are you watching me?'_ Kasai turned his eyes towards the audience, looking for a familiar face amongst the undistinguishable crowd. _'I want you to see . . .,'_ he looked away, shutting and opening his eyes with determination, _'. . . how much stronger I've become.'_

 **4!**

' _Yosh, Kenio! This is your chance! Don't let it go!'_ The ginger cracked his fingers and tightened his ponytail. _'I'm going to make up for all my mistakes in this festival!'_

 **3!**

Fuma rotated his shoulders and swerved his neck from side-to-side. _'I'll keep my word. I'll show them . . .,'_ a lucid green aura began to glow around him, lighting up his eyes, _'. . . what the path of a true Hero is like.'_

 **2!**

' _Inori . . . just you wait. I'll beat everyone . . . and then I'll come for you.'_ Asuna flipped her twintails over her shoulders as she reached for her twigs and gripped them tightly in her palms. _'This time . . ._ _ **I**_ _will reject_ _ **you**_ _.'_

 **1!**

' _ **Win this . . . Inori.'**_

 **0!**

The black suitcases fell open with a distinct crackle and as everyone swerved in to attack, the golden insects buzzed out into free air, goggling at their pursuers with wide, mechanical eyes.

Grinning excitedly, Battle Fist exclaimed, "Round 1 of the Sports Festival has now officially **BEGUN**!"

The audience roared with exhilaration as the students threw themselves into combat, unleashing everything they had in a bid to qualify for the next round. And in a corner of the VIP seats sat a dark-haired male, with twitching feline ears and sparkling eyes.

"I hope nya can see evewything cwearly, meow," he purred under his breath, covertly fixing a tiny lens to the front pocket of his shirt.

* * *

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 10:16 a.m. – Arena A)**

 _( "AL!"_

 _He tried to push the older boys away from the crumpled figure of his brother but the tallest of the group shoved him to the ground with only one arm, gazing down at him with apathetic eyes. Aisen tried to desperately hold back the tears of pain but shrunk in fright when the bully began approaching him, towering over his petit figure._

" _Didn't we tell you weaklings this is_ _ **our**_ _play area, you damn white rats?" Even as he spoke, his other allies continued ruthlessly kicking at the bruised and bleeding Alistair. Aisen tried to move, tried to talk back but his body refused to obey, and could only shiver violently as he stared wide and teary-eyed._

 _When he made no attempts at running away or saving his brother, the tall boy grinned in amusement, scratching the back of his head. "Man, you're even weaker and more pathetic than I thought."_

 _And suddenly, the eyes that looked at him with contempt turned into a sulphuric yellow._

" _What a pathetic little ssssssewer rat you are, Yuki-sssssan."_

 _Aisen screamed as Kazumi smirked down at him from the bully's position, her long tail inching towards him with an unspoken threat of violence. He tried to scream for Alistair but when his gaze shifted to him-_

" _I told you not to interfere!" The one who was brutally stomping down at his brother was none other than Asuna, her face twisted mad with rage. "Why did you still come?!"_

 _But before he could say anything, the thick tail wrapped around his neck. )_

Aisen was jolted to reality only by the screams and yells of the students around him, roughly shoved to the side as they threw themselves into action chasing after the targets. He and thirty one other UA freshmen had been caged within giant cement walls that looked like they were straight out of some high definition post-apocalyptic video game. And on top of that, he had to engage in a battle royale against two of the strongest and most bloodthirsty girls he'd ever known.

"~Stop daydreaming, Ai-chi!~" The blond squeaked as Mashiro lightly slammed a hand to his back, running past. "~You're going to lose out at this rate!~"

"M-Madou . . .," Aisen mumbled, hesitant as he watched everyone go crazy chasing the mechanical insects and clashing against each other. However, as he continued standing still in the corner, a particular sight caught his eye.

"Hands off _my_ target, blondie!" Without the slightest trace of concern for the people around her, Asuna whipped out two trunks from her fanny pack and increased their size before striking at her opponent with it. A scowl overtook Ryota's face as the trunks barged into his electromagnetic field, displacing it and freeing the fly he'd managed to trap. As it buzzed away, Asuna made an effort to trap it amidst her plant vines but it was too quick and retreated to a safe distance on the other side of the field.

"Damn it!" Both students hissed at the failed capture before turning to glare at each other, seething underneath the surface. However, realising that they were only wasting time, they rushed in opposite directions.

"~Do you want to be left behind by Ryota-chi, Ai-chi?~" Mashiro tilted his head, smiling playfully at the nervous boy. Amidst the chaotic battles between the students, the two boys found themselves teetering on the edge of vacancy.

But the heavy question finally made Aisen draw in a deep breath.

"Of . . . of course not!" Mashiro's smile widened as the shorter blond braved a boxed smile on his face, lips stretched tight over his clenched teeth. "I'm not gonna be a rice guy anymore! This time . . . this time I'm gonna ketchup to everyone else!"

' _That's right . . . I promised some people, didn't I? Creati, Tetsuya, Hanransha, Lena, Al . . . but most importantly . . . I promised myself!'_

"I'm not letting you get away, pesssssst!" Several students screamed and moved out of the way as Kazumi, towering at 9 feet over everyone, violently slithered after a fly that seemed to be hovering in circles around her head in an act of mockery. She shoved any unfortunate student who got in her way, gradually losing her cool as she chased after the robot insect but unable to catch hold of it as its speed was much faster than she could keep up with.

However, suddenly, she found herself unable to move and stuck to the ground.

"What the-?!" As the redhead swivelled around, face contorted with rage, she came face-to-face with a blue-skinned boy who shrank away from her gaze in fear. But her eyes did not miss the gooey mess that dripped down his skin and as she shifted her gaze to her tail, she realised he'd used the goo to somehow attach her tail to the ground. And no matter how much she tried to pull away, the goo remained fiercely stuck and threatened to rip off her scales.

"Good work, Oreki! The lamia's down!" Kazumi bared her fangs as several of the students overtook her and sped forward, determined to catch the fly in their midst. The way they deployed their Quirks and made use of each other's abilities made it clear that they had been practicing their teamwork – while the boy called Oreki had used his Quirk to trap her, two of his other teammates tried to capture their target by using their Quirks in tandem and three others worked as vanguard to keep other pursuers away from their target. Grudgingly, Kazumi found herself respecting their excellent teamwork but-

' _You're still too early to think you can stop ME!'_ Gnashing her teeth together, she expanded her body mass to grow larger in size and pulled forward with all her strength, refusing to utter a single exclamation of pain. Oreki cried out at the frightening expression on her face and almost fainted when Kazumi successfully pulled herself free, leaving behind a trail of bleeding and ripped snake skin stuck to the gooey ground. "N-No way-!" He ran out of the way of the approaching lamia and without warning, the redhead surged her tail forward and knocked three of his teammates to the ground with a powerful heave.

"Don't underesssssstimate me, weaklingssssss," she hissed, smiling uncannily at the remaining two. Both students gulped in fear but instead of giving up, turned to face her in combat, letting the insect go free.

And it was then that another student saw his chance and swooped in.

"Thanks a lot, Enoshima-san." As Kazumi engaged the two general education students in combat, she saw a smirking Jigoku flutter past them and dash straight towards _her_ prey. As they turned around, distracted by the horned boy's discreet appearance, she knocked both of them away to a distance and barely stopped to watch as they crashed into other students and toppled to the ground.

"Te-Ji-Na." Jigoku kicked his legs harder and pulled out two cards from his forearms, throwing them at a rapidly approaching Kazumi.

"Deliberate violence is against the rules, Enoshima-san!" His smirk was tense as he watched the steel cards flit towards her in a curved trajectory but nevertheless, she managed to deflect both of them away. However, as soon as she touched the second one, a cloud of dark grey gas burst and encompassed all around her, forcing the teenager to stop in her tracks.

"Heh, it's a good thing I didn't forget my chip pouch this time, huh?" Jigoku smiled to himself as he pulled out a tiny, plastic circle from a bag donned under his shirt. As the fly before him danced in confusing circles, the boy pulled out another card from the skin on his arm and fixed the chip to it. Then, fixing his aim, he murmured, "You're mine."

But before he could throw the card, something grabbed at his leg and pulled him to the ground.

* * *

 **Student Name: Ryota Unagi**

 **Quirk: Barrier**

 **Barrier allows Ryota to create an electromagnetic field around himself that can affect both inanimate objects and living, moving figures.**

 **P.S: Ryota is considered to be the most handsome boy in the 1** **st** **year Hero course.**

* * *

"W-What the-?!" Jigoku did not have enough time to sputter as he crashed to the ground face forward, getting a mouthful of soil in the process. As he looked back, he felt a dangerous presence loom behind him; and the familiar snake tail tightened around his ankle. The fly he was chasing after seemed to have stopped out of curiosity, and was peering down at him with a tilt of its little head. "H-How did she . . ."

The gas chip he'd attached to his second card had spread grey smoke around a small part of the arena and he could hear the confused cries of the students who'd got caught in it. But, for some reason, Kazumi seemed to be able to move with ease even within the shroud. And when she was close enough, he realised why it was so.

"Clever but you forgot ssssssomething, Tejina-sssssan." She effortlessly picked up the boy with her tail and hung him upside down, staring into his face with an unnerving gaze. Jigoku had no doubts left; Kazumi's pupils had narrowed into reptilian slits, irises decked with various fine lines. She swung him to the right before tossing him to the floor like a ragdoll. As the insect finally snapped out of its curiosity, it quickly turned to retreat but with frightening speed, Kazumi lunged at it and grabbed it within the tip of her long tongue. And as soon as it was caught, it stopped moving and the rapid buzz of its wings died down.

Jigoku's head spun from being shaken as a pendulum but through his bleary vision, he could faintly make out the lamia's face.

"You cannot blind a sssssnake until you rip her eyessssss out."

Asuna may have been in an intense match against the sickening 1-B couple but she did see Kazumi straight up pummel Jigoku to the ground and grab one of the precious flies for herself.

"Yukiji-kun, she's ignoring us!" The annoying twin-tailed girl was pissing her off majorly, clinging to her ferret-faced boyfriend like they'd come to a date in the park.

"Don't mind her, Honami-chan! She's just too blind to notice your cuteness!" But despite their cancerous personalities, they were exceptional at teamwork. The Honami girl had some kind of support Quirk with which she was not only continuously healing her boyfriend's injuries but every time Asuna directly clashed with him, she had to exert more energy to repel him away.

"Stop playing around like kids, you idiots!" She enlarged one of her tree trunks just in time to deflect against the ferret boy's cement sword – if she had to guess, he'd probably created it using Cementoss' walls as base, giving her a faint approximation of what his Quirk could be. Despite wielding two heavy swords, one in each hand, his movements were fast and filled with power and it was taking Asuna great effort to deflect his attacks without going all out and hurt everyone around her.

"It pisses me off how you 1-A folks look down on us!" Yukiji dodged the protruding branches aimed towards him, movements inhumanely fast and agile but Asuna was not about to give up. She could see one of the precious golden insects flying right in the midst of both of them, eagerly watching them with gigantic, round eyes. She pulled up one of her vines and whipped it at the boy, trying to wrap him within it but moving fast, he cut through it with his sword until it dropped uselessly to the ground.

"LOOK DOWN ON YOU?! JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT US?!" Asuna enlarged a trunk and ran on it, headed straight towards the boy; he tried to jump on it but a sharp branch protruded out of the very spot and cut across his skin. Hissing in pain, Yukiji immediately stepped down and whining out his name, his girlfriend immediately dashed towards him.

' _First . . . I need to get rid of this tramp!'_ Asuna changed the direction of the trunk's branch until it curved to where Honami was and noticing this, the girl's eyes widened in fright. She did not even seem to notice that the fly they'd been fighting for swooped up and sat right on top of her head; however, it clearly did not escape her boyfriend or Asuna's eyes.

"STAY STILL HONAMI-CHAN/DAMNED TRAMP!" They screamed as they reached towards the girl, who squealed and turned around to run in fear; just as Asuna unleashed a medium-sized trunk to knock both teens out of the way, Yukiji used both his blades and body to protect his girl from the bloodthirsty beast. The brunette screamed out in frustration as the ferret boy got into her way again, pushing back against her with all his strength.

"GREATER . . . TRUNK!" The tree branch expanded erratically in size and finally, it broke right through the cement swords and fell upon Yukiji. The boy cried in pain as it landed harshly on top of him but somehow, he was able to drag himself away before it could crush and pin him to the ground. But moving fast, Asuna used her vine whip to wrap around the boy's torso and immobilise him, knowing that the girl had no protection without his fighting skills.

However, it all turned out to be for naught.

"I'm sorry, Yukiji-kun! Waaaaaaaahhhh!" Mashiro let go of the wailing girl as soon as he grabbed the fly that'd made its perch on top of her head, waving happily as he and Asuna made eye contact.

"Honami-chan!" Asuna made no movements to keep the ferret boy restrained and he easily shook off her vine restraints, running towards his crying girlfriend and grabbing her in his arms. Patting her head, he smiled and comfortingly cooed, "Yosh, yosh, Honami-chan, it's okay, it's okay." But despite his reassurances, she continued wailing, burying her face in his shirt. "Hey, we still haven't lost, yeah? There are still plenty of targets to go around."

"Madou-san . . .," Asuna was overcome with fury so violent that she could do nothing but stare blankly at the boy and clench her fists, magenta eyes numb and soulless.

Mashiro flashed her an adorable smile as he rolled the motionless fly between his thumb and index finger. "~You should hurry, Asu-chi. There's not many targets left, you know.~"

' _If I let this one go, I might as well give up!'_ Aisen, on the other end of Arena 1, found himself in a difficult predicament battling against more than a dozen students for the six remaining targets. And for some reason, two of the flies seemed to be attached at the hip as they flew right above the fighting students' heads, seemingly engaged in some kind of romantic insect waltz amidst all the chaos. It was taking all for the blond just to keep himself out of the way of all of the Quirks – trying to catch the targets seemed impossible.

"Out of my way!" Suddenly, a powerful surge of energy erupted in the area around him and along with most of the other students, Aisen was pushed off his feet and sent rolling into the opposite direction. If not for him activating Shine Burning and using the flames' strength to stop his body, he would've crashed into the other students and become a part of the domino fall.

' _That's the Unagi guy!'_ Undoubtedly, the source of the powerful surge had been Ryota, who stood staring with furrowed eyes and clenched teeth as the golden insects danced right above his head. Aisen noticed crackles of electricity sparkle around him, causing his blond curls to flare out into faint spikes. Gulping down his nervousness, the lavender-eyed teen activated his flames until they covered him in their comforting warmth and fed power through his veins.

' _While I'm here losing my foot and holding back because of anxiety . . . everyone is giving it their all to win.'_ Ryota unleashed another surge of invisible energy around him, pushing away the students who tried to attack him – it was clear that he was planning to repel anyone who tried to tread on the particular area.

' _And after I made that brave oath in front of Hanransha and Tetsuya . . . and the promise I made to Creati . . .,'_ Aisen clenched his shaking fists.

"THAT ONE IS MINE!" He could see Asuna at a distance, her face twisted up in fury as she unleashed a torrent of large trunks and vines around her, trapping and knocking anyone who tried to get close to her or the fly she was chasing.

' _I can't . . . run away anymore . . .'_

 _( "Hey, Jack."_

 _The little boy turned to his twin as they sat on the edge of the balcony, enjoying the cool night breeze. But his bright grin was immediately wiped off when he saw the sad look in his brother's eyes._

" _You know . . . I really envy you." The younger twin wrapped his small hands around his arms, smiling ruefully. ". . . I wish my Quirk was as strong as yours." )_

' _. . . I don't want to disappoint anyone anymore.'_

"Damn, they won't stop coming, won't they?" Ryota spat on the ground before looking towards the flies, russet eyes glaring with ferocity. "Looks like I have no other choice . . ." He lifted his palms and turned them skywards, before clenching his fists. "I just hope I don't crush them . . ."

But before he could unleash his barrier towards the targets, he felt rapid footsteps barrel towards him.

Ryota turned around just in time to release an electromagnetic barrier and repel Aisen's flames away from him, watching with wide eyes as they dispersed into flickers inches away from his face. Both blondes stared at each other with shock and acted at the same time – Aisen covered both his fists in bright golden flames and aimed a punch at the taller boy. And if not for Ryota emitting a powerful spark to resist the flames, he would've almost been burned.

Before the boys could attack each other once again, however, the retreat of the insects caught their gaze. "Oh no, they're flying away!" As the curly-haired boy turned to look behind him, Aisen had already kicked off in their pursuit, his speed greatly boosted by the flames of Shine Burning.

"Oh, so this is what it's going to be like, then?" As a clenched grin erupted on Ryota's face, sparks of electricity spun around his legs and lit them up in sunny crackles. "Looks like-"

He shot forward and blitzed through the arena, more bent on chasing after Aisen's flaming back than catching his targets.

"-IT'S GONNA BE A RACE!"

* * *

 **(Arena D)**

Staring up at the huge figure before him left an awkward, bitter stain of a smile on Ryo's face. ". . . You're fucking kidding me, right?"

"I never really liked the Hero Course students but you 1-A brats have a special stick up your arses, don't you?" Suzuran, Jobu, Habiki and Kagami stuck beside the emerald-haired delinquent as they stared at the various enemies that had them surrounded from all sides. If Habiki had to guess, they were most likely from either the general education or the business department – but with all the bandanas and long, black jackets they donned, he couldn't really tell.

"Oi, this is not supposed to be a competition between us!" Loudmouth Jobu pointed at the short, beret-wearing boy who'd spoken earlier. "The competition is to catch the insects, not fight each other!" Suzuran was turning paler and paler under the intimidating gaze of the insanely tall and muscular student who was gazing down upon them like they were toys to be played with.

The petit boy pushed back his oversized headwear before turning his unimpressed eyes towards the silver-haired boy. "Oh, shut up. Listening to you talk feels like suffering from diarrhoea." The shark-toothed boy's jaw dropped at the blatant insult, his face going slack from shock. "As I said, I don't have much of an interest in winning this competition. Or even studying, for that matter, since I'm going to inherit my dad's company in the future anyway."

The lopsided smirk that lit up the boy's face unsettled even Ryo.

A trio of golden flies buzzed past the gigantic students head but they were completely ignored. "No, what I and my gang wanna do right now is have some fun with you 'Heroes'." He fixed the oversized black jacket around his shoulders, similar to but much fancier than what all the others were wearing. "I just want to see if any of you are worth investing money in . . . so don't hold a grudge against me, okay?"

"This is really, really bad." Kagami sweat-dropped, grabbing the back of Jobu's shirt as the students advanced towards them. "Why are all of them listening to that kid?"

"Well, from what I think, they're more or less his 'underlings' – bought by money or otherwise." Habiki tried his best to stay at a distance from Ryo but due to the threatening steps taken by the other students, it was getting difficult. _'Are they listening to him out of respect for his Quirk? Or do their parents work for his father's company or something?'_ He could feel Suzuran shake violently beside him, their shoulders touching. _'Either way, I don't think they're going to disobey their leader's orders . . .'_

"Oh, so you're just a leech-hearted, breast-sucking coward then, aren't you?"

A cold breeze passed over the entire area as all of the students froze in their steps.

Jobu, Kagami, Habiki and Suzuran turned their shocked gazes towards Ryo, who was pulling an incredibly amused face at the dark-haired boy.

". . . I think I just misheard something right now . . ." The small boy's eyes were stretched wide and round, pupils having dilated into tiny circles as he stared at the 1-A delinquent. ". . . what did you just say?"

"No, you heard quite right, you arrogant little brat." Audible gasps could be heard from all the other students as the exchanged nervous glances before shifting their gazes to their leader. But contrary to his shaking figure, Ryo was speaking with sombre clarity. "I just said you're a leech-hearted, breast-sucking coward who can't even look his opponents in the eye. You can only fucking depend on your blind, dim-witted minions to carry out your tasks and make you feel a false sense of triumph."

Habiki noticed the violent shaking of the other boy's shoulders, disliking the way his face had darkened. _'That's enough, Kenshi-san! Stop! We don't need to increase the antagonism between us anymore!'_

' _SHUT THE FUCK UP, HARA.'_ The words were thought with such intensity that they left a faint throb within Habiki's mind. "I've grinded gears and beaten several cowards like you to bloody pulps." Ryo cracked his knuckles with an audible pop as tiny shards edged out of his wrists. "Brats like you need to be taught a harsh lesson and sent back home to the laps of your mommies."

". . . You're dead, you damn Yankee."

"Huh?!" Ryo drawled out, pushing out his lower lip in mockery. "Did you say something, you breast-sucking baby?"

The boy's eyes were filled with angry tears as he threw his beret on the floor and stomped a foot down on it. "I SAID YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD! HORIE!" The muscular student flexed his biceps and the others could only watch in awe as the simple act ripped off the sleeves of the black jacket he was wearing, revealing the inhumanly thick muscles underneath. The boy pointed towards the five teens and cried, "BREAK ALL THEIR FUCKING BONES!"

"YES, AYAME-SAMA!" The giant roared as he sprinted towards the group, a brutally large fist aimed to shatter Ryo's skull. But before the boy could spring up a wall of crystals, Jobu had moved in front of him and blocked the punch with his steel arms.

"Heh, you move pretty fast for a hulking Minotaur, don't you, big guy?!" The boy grinned, fully encompassed in his Steel Forge. The giant stared down at him with a disinterested gaze but his eyes grew wide as a stinging pain burned his knuckle. He quickly retracted his fist and stared blankly at the burned knuckles, before turning his attention to Jobu.

"HOW DARE YOU HURT HORIE, YOU EMPTY BEER CAN!" Jobu's jaw went slack for the second time at the short boy's insult. "WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU WAITING FOR?!" He turned to his other underlings, crying tears of frustration. "DESTROY THESE ANNOYING PESTS!"

"YES, AYAME-SAMA!"

As the odd-twenty students unleashed themselves on the group of five, two figures watched from a covert distance at the ongoing chaos.

"N-Ne, President," Akane was fairly nervous about the threat the Ayame boy had given about the Hero course students. "Akane wants to ask if shouldn't we help them? W-What if . . . the savages come after Akane and the President next?"

"Tch, tch, tch, Yoshida-san." Hayate waved his index finger to-and-fro, nervous but determined not to lose out on the golden opportunity they'd received. "This is a chance provided by the Almighty Himself! Why should we waste it on helping those egotistical fools?! No, there is a greater task laid out for us to accomplish!"

As the sounds of a violent battle clashed through Arena D, Hayate pulled Akane's chin and forced her to look in the opposite direction. A single golden fly buzzed past the duo, tempting them to chase after it.

"This is no time to be helpful Samaritans, Yoshida-san! It's time to show 1-A that we're as good . . . no, even BETTER than them!"

"P-Pwesden!" the brunette struggle to wrench out of the tight hold he had on his face. "Lwet go ofh Akane'sh fesh!"

* * *

 **(Arena C)**

"AH-AH-AH! What beautiful . . . WHAT BEAUTIFUL CREATURES YOU ARE!"

Inori flared out her wings to full size at the off-putting expression on the bespectacled boy's face, trying to shield Kenio, Kasai and Yasu behind her. But at the sight of her black feathers, the weird boy squealed even louder and his eyes glazed over behind his thick frames, drool dribbling down his chin.

"Please calm down, Shin-kun." The tall, skinny redhead beside him wiped away her shorter companion's saliva with a handkerchief, her face as stoic as a stone compared to his zealous expressions. "Remember, they are our enemies, and not experimental specimens." Her detached monotone caused goosebumps to breakout on the skins of the 1-A quartet.

"Yes, yes, Misuzu! I know but . . . just look at her gorgeous af wings!" Inori shrunk her feathered appendages, becoming more and more disturbed at his expressions. "Look at his abnormally long and pointed ears, coupled with that lit mysterious mask!" Yasu stared back at him, unsure if it was a compliment or an insult. "And that apocalyptic respirator, hiding a tasty secret!" Kasai's hand automatically flew to his accessory as, for a split second, he wondered if the weird afro-haired boy knew about his scar.

Kenio, who was listening to the boy with increasing confusion and frustration, noticed an insect approaching them. He quickly painted a mechanical toy arm, planning to use the two students' distraction to obtain his target but just as he sprung it up towards the fly-

"Oooooooohhhh, what's the hurry?!"

Kenio gritted his teeth in anger as the bespectacled boy slapped the toy arm away and splattered it into paint specks; a much stronger and bigger mechanical arm, glistening under bright sunlight, had popped out of the thick belt he was wearing. As the insect buzzed away, he grinned at the four students, "It'll be boring if you just win like that, won't it?!"

A whirl of rotating cogs and snapping of machine parts erupted from the boy as long, frightening enhancements begin to grow out of him. His companion sighed under her breath before rotating her shoulder, colourful metallic armour snapping into slots over her figure.

As the golden flies buzzed around the arena, swiftly eluding their pursuers and pitting them against each other, Inori and the other three realised that what they were going to face wouldn't be an easy win.

Shin, although, had an incredibly happy look on his face.

"Let's play for a little while, shall we?!"

* * *

 **ED 3 – Itsuka Kono Namidaga by Little Glee Monster**

* * *

 **Pinky: The Villain cast has finally been uploaded on my profile! Kyah, I'm so excited to write them in!**

 **Inori: . . . There're double the number of characters you said you'd accept though.**

 **Pinky: Hai, hai, I know! But the thing is, half of them are specific plot-related Villains like Graviton and were created for more 'specific' purposes!**

 **Inori: . . . I think you're just making excuses for your greed.**

 **Pinky: H-HEY! I-IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT! W-WHO YOU'RE CALLING GREEDY?!**

 **Inori: You, of course.**

 **Pinky: YOU- Anyway *sighs* I would like to give a big, BIG thanks to all the talented writers for sending their amazing characters to me! I really, REALLY wish I could use all of them because there was not a** _ **single**_ **one I disliked. But I'm afraid that with the limited amount of time I have, I can only use a limited number of them.**

 **Inori: You talk like you are going to die.**

 **Pinky: Oh, shush! As I was saying, a huge thanks to all my super-talented readers and creators for the immense support you've shown to this story! There have been times when I've felt depressed and thought about giving up but due to all your encouraging reviews and support, I've always been able to somehow power through!**

 **So let's move forward together through another season! PLUS ULTRA!**


	28. Ch 27 - Pit Off

**OP 3 – Anomie by Amazarashi**

* * *

 **Chapter 27 – Pit Off**

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 10:20 a.m. – Arena B)**

"GYRATING . . . _KICK_!"

Hoshi moved in, remembering it was her turn, and unleashed a heavy gravity field around her in order to drag down the two boys unbalanced by Reiko's kick. As they fell to the floor, bodies made heavier by the intense force weighing down on them, Akaname emitted his Incense to cloak their body and began tapping away at their energy.

When the boys had turned into two drowsy figures, a few blinks away from slumber, Reiko jumped into the air and cheered, "YAY! Another two bite the dust!" Hoshi cheered along with her, raising a tiny fist in the air and even the bespectacled teen couldn't help smiling behind his dust mask.

"Your Gravity Field is stronger than I expected, Fujita-san." He gave the freckled girl a respectful nod and she beamed happily at his comment.

"~Thank you, Shimizu-kun! I've worked hard all these weeks for the Festival so that I can give it my all like the rest of our classmates!~" She flexed her skinny arms in a show of mock strength.

' _That's right . . . Fujita-san may look small and fragile, but during the entrance exam, she managed to lift up a mass of large rocks and line them across the valley, all while they held her and Hitori-san's weight.'_ Wiping the sweat droplets off his forehead, Akaname scoured the chaotic arena to look for their golden targets – after all, both Hoshi and Reiko were following his plan. He _had_ to make sure he got all three of them to the next round.

"Prez, Fujita, we don't have time to stand around!" Reiko appeared in front of their eyes within the next blink, pointing to the distance. "Otherwise those two are going to beat us!"

The other side of Arena B was a complete massacre due to the presence of two students known as Kanashimi Fuma and Itou Haruka. The former, covered in the emerald cloak of his Emotions Manifest, was battling against a group of students all by himself and greatly overwhelming them at the same time. Meanwhile, Haruka was in less better shape and had already got parts of his shirt and jacket ripped off – but despite every fall he took, he stood back up with double the determination and crashed into his opponents again and again.

' _That's right . . . even though they're our classmates, the existence of Kanashimi-san and Itou-san in the same arena as us only raises the difficulty level.'_ "Fujita-san, Shimamura-san, move at 9'0' clock and quickly!" Both girls saluted the pink-haired boy and rushed after him, Reiko blitzing forward on her skates.

But as they rushed ahead, they did not notice the shadowed pair of eyes that traced their figures.

"For President I will . . . defeat you, 1-A!" squeaked Honnouji Reiji, a pair of luminous ambers glinting under his bowl cut.

* * *

 **(Arena B)**

"W-What the-?!" Kasai, along with most of the students in the Arena B, backed away at the sight of the now-frightening support duo that stood in front of them.

"Are you sure I haven't seen you in some anime, lass?" Yasu's eyes narrowed the slightest bit, his calm voice not giving away the thirst for battle that was rising up the pit of his stomach.

"AH, THE ELFIN ONE SPEAKS! WHAT A HEAVENLY BARITONE!" As his eyes glazed over and he squiggled like a dying worm, clasping his flushed cheeks in his palms, 1st year Support course student Tanezaki Shin had around a dozen or so gadgets seemingly rising out of his body. They were all attached to fibrous, wiry tendrils that sprung out of his skin like mechanical tentacles and hovered threateningly in the air.

Meanwhile, his childhood friend and constant companion, 1st year Support course Togashi Misuzu seemed to have completely transformed into a humanoid robot in red and white shades, covered from head to toe in metal plating with a black-visor helmet fitted over her head. From beside her, Shin quivered out in a flustered voice, "J-Just because you asked, I'll tell you, Elf-kun! Misuzu here can transform into a full-fledged robot with the help of her Quirk, Gundam! Not only does it give her the ability to fly, enhanced strength, speed, durability, amazing vision-"

"Ne, Shin-kun." The afro-haired boy immediately stopped babbling and opened his shut eyes as Misuzu poked his arm, pointing at the empty space where their 1-A opponents had just been standing. Then, she pointed in the distance and stated, "They're running away."

Grinning as usual, Shin snapped his head to the side. ". . . Ara."

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, NEW FRIENDS?!" Using a spring-like gadget, Shin launched himself into the air and leaped after the running quartet, his long fingers stretched out to catch hold of them.

"What the . . . STOP CHASING US, YOU DAMNED WEIRDO!" Creeped out beyond belief, Kasai skidded to a stop and bringing up his lighter, breathed a medium-sized fire shower at the boy. However, the grin on Shin's face only widened as one of the mechanical tentacles unleashed a large torrent of water from its broad nozzle, quenching the flames in one go.

"W-What the-!" Kenio pushed Kasai to the side as he rushed forward, holding a large, somewhat misshapen magnet in his hands. He held it up and rotated it in Shin's direction; and, as expected, it caused the metal constructs to entwine together and pull the boy towards him.

As his grin turned tense, the boy cried, "MISU-!" But before he could even complete his sentence, the girl was flying full speed towards Kenio, propelled by two rockets attached to the back of her suit. Just as she was about to smash a hard fist into his jaw, Inori pulled the ginger back and blocked the girl's blow with a black-scaled arm.

Misuzu retreated to a distance but not before catching Shin mid-air and landing him safely on the ground beside her. The boy, however, was giggling to himself with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, his expression crazed beyond belief. "Beautiful . . .," he mumbled, staring at Inori's stony expression and giant arm. "You're all so beautiful . . .," his gaze flitted to a disturbed Kasai and a silent Yasu.

Then, throwing back his head and spreading his arms, he screamed, "I WANT TO . . . I WANT TO EXPERIMENT ON ALL THREE OF YOU!"

"Well, well, looks like Nori and the others have something of a troublesome case on their hand." Koji, who had slipped away from his classmates in the solo pursuit of a target, watched from a discreet corner as they were attacked by the weird Support course pair. However, his attention was soon grabbed by his former target's re-appearance as it buzzed towards him, followed by a group of angry, fighting students. Smiling mischievously, Koji skipped in their direction, knowing that no matter what kind of Quirks they were equipped with, his Gutbuster would take little time to leave them defenceless and in splits.

"Heya, guys!" The various students momentarily paused from their battle and turned in the direction of the boy, their eyes narrowing as they recognised him as a student from the "famous" 1-A. With his brightly beaming grin and hands innocently entwined behind his back, the freckle-faced boy light-heartedly dawdled towards them with playful steps.

"What did the group of teenagers say when they came across a clown?"

A girl with pixie hair growled at Koji in anger. "The fuck do yo-"

But he cut into her words, smiling eerily, "They said nothing because they were too busy laughing!"

" **AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAH**!"

Koji clapped his hands in glee as a wave of laughter surged over the whole crowd and forced all the students on their knees, unfiltered chortling escaping them. The insect chasing them looked down at the students with confusion and using the momentary pause, Koji jumped towards it, palm stretched out to grab hold-

But before he could do so, a spurt of bubbles suddenly burst over his face.

"This i-!" The insect whisked away as Koji was pushed back by their sudden appearance; but when he'd swatted them all away, he noticed a larger bubble had entrapped the insect in its hold. The freckled boy clenched his teeth as he rushed after it, trying to reach for the bubble . . .

Before his gaze fell on a figure standing ahead.

' _Ah, so this is the Bubble Blower . . .'_ A girl with a tired, pretty face stood before him, staring at him with determined red-ringed eyes, pulling the encased insect towards her with finger movements. Her whole head was inside a large bubble and Koji could guess the reason behind it.

' _Nevertheless, let me throw a shot.'_ "Ne, missy, wanna hear a joke?" he smirked, trying to mask the tension he was feeling. The sapphire-haired girl made no reply but continued gazing at him.

' _Dammit . . . looks like she really can't hear me.'_ Knowing it was no use chasing after the target anymore, Koji swivelled around on his feet and decided to dash back and search for the other insects.

". . . Why do you want to become a Hero?"

Momentarily stunned, the green-haired boy immediately recollected himself as he turned to face her, opening his lips to employ Gutbuster. But before he could speak, she had grabbed the target in her palm, her eyes never leaving his.

"Why . . ."

The quivering of her lips stilled Koji.

". . . do you want to be a Hero?"

"GIVE THE FUCK UP ALREADY!"

Shin and Misuzu barely dodged the furious flame shower breathed out at them while the other students in the vicinity screamed and ran away, terrified by the raging respirator boy. The Support course duo, however, were relentless in their pursuit of the four 1-A students and Shin shot out two mechanical talons to make a grab for Kenio and Yasu while Misuzu took on Inori in close combat. Both girls were rather evenly matched as they exchanged blows and dodged each other's strikes; meanwhile, the ginger revved up a chainsaw to cut off one of the mechanical arms while Yasu spat out a concentrated stream of Bad Blood to melt the other.

"You could have been in the Hero department with how strong you are," Inori commented as she dodged a right punch from the robot-suited girl, while blocking a left jab with her arm. She tried to twist the arm with a claw but was forced to move away when Misuzu almost hit her with a knee to the ribs.

"If Shin-kun wants to join the Hero department, I'll join," the girl replied in an equally monotonous voice as two sharp metal blades jutted out from the top of her palms, with which she tried to cut at Inori. "If he wants to stay in the Support department, I'll stay." However, although the tip of one blade lightly slashed into the raven-head's skin, she grabbed the other one in her large, crimson nails and broke it. "Where Shin-kun goes, I'll follow."

"Why won't you stop chasing us?!" Kenio sprang up in the air, springs drawn to the soles of his shoes as he tried to cut down the afro boy's gadgets with his chainsaw. _'We don't have time to be playing with these lunatics!'_ Shin whistled in amusement as the freckled boy wildly swung at him with his cartoonish weapon, grinning at the increasing rage in his vermillion eyes.

"Oooooohhh, you're not as boring as I thought you were, Freckles!" Kenio gritted his teeth in anger as he swung incredibly close to Shin. "But . . .," the grin on the shorter boy's face turned into a scowl as two of his metallic tentacles began rotating into the shape of small fans. ". . . You're still not as beautiful as the other three!"

Kenio flinched as a tentacle flew in from nowhere and slammed into his right arm before reaching for his chainsaw and ripping right through the paint. Shin's lips upturned into a snide smirk as he prepared to knock the boy out before-

"NAKAMURA-SAN, DODGE!"

A flurry of fire burst from below as Kenio sprang backwards, causing Shin to be momentarily caught in the intense heat of the flames. Cursing as he was lightly charred, he winded his nozzle to an intense spray of water that rained intensely upon the flames, immediately fizzing them out. "What is that guy doing . . .?" he mumbled, wondering how stupid the Hero student could be to try the same trick again and again. But as he looked down, a rancid stench filled his nose.

"Khack . . . aghhhh . . . khack . . ."

The sound of the violent coughs reached Misuzu's ears even as she was in the midst of exchanging jabs and strikes with the infamous Tetsuya Inori. Her eyes widened behind her visor when she saw Shin faltering on his hands and knees, drool stringing down his lips as he hacked on the ground, his tentacle gadgets lying around him uselessly. "SHI-!" But the slight moment of distraction cost her as Inori finally managed to find a breakthrough and slammed her enlarged claw into the side of the girl's head, swatting her to the ground.

"UGH!" Misuzu felt an intense pain course through her left shoulder as she crashed . . . but within seconds, she'd jumped back to her feet and rushed to her coughing and dribbling classmate. Throwing his convulsing body over her shoulder, Misuzu threw a brief glance at the heaving and wary Hero students before flying to the other side of the arena and disappearing amidst the fighting chaos.

"We don't have much time!" Kenio had already started painting something, his face distraught with anger. "We need to hurry!"

' _That expression again . . .'_ Inori stared at him, her eyebrows slightly furrowed in worry.

 _( "As long as I had hit it even a little", a hateful gleam, almost malevolent in nature, sparked in the usually friendly orange eyes, "why does it matter how hurt I got?" )_

' _You're making that face again, Kenio . . .'_

* * *

 **(Arena D)**

"IRON FIST!"

Jobu lunged into the air and slammed a fist in the direction of Horie's jaw, keeping his fist cool enough to not burn into skin. But as soon as his knuckles came into contact with the hulk's chin, his eyes widened.

"Thank you for your help," he nodded at Jobu as a layer of metallic sleet spread rapidly over his skin, shining with the same intensity as his opponent's. The shorter boy only had enough time to strengthen the metal on his stomach before Horie harshly dug a steel fist below his ribcage, causing the boy an intense throb of pain as he was thrown in the air.

"Yes, Horie! Show them who's boss!" Ayame smirked, immensely pleased at the turn of events.

Barely dodging a girl who'd attacked her, Kagami screamed, "JOBU!" as she saw him crash into the ground, his back hitting the floor so hard that cracks rippled over the ground underneath him. Ryo gritted his teeth as he tried to fend off the four students attacking him; he was shooting crystals out of the ground in each direction and firing small shards from his wrists simultaneously. But despite pushing his Quirk to the limit, the combined teamwork of the weaker but much more cooperative students was beginning to chip away at both his physicality and stamina.

"Kita-san, look out!" Habiki managed to mentally distract the gangly boy trying to attack Kagami for enough time to allow the girl to turn around and bind him with Enigma. But before he realised it, someone grabbed his wrist and flung him into the air.

' _W-What . . .?'_ Upside down as he was flung up, the raven-head stared at a muscular girl below as she viciously grinned at his stupefied expression. _'How did I . . . not notice her?'_ Gravity pulled him down and he landed on his back, the rocky ground digging into his spine. But when he recovered from the momentary disorientation and stared in the direction of the girl, she was gone. And with her being nowhere in sight, he had also lost his probe on her mind.

"You Hero trainees think you're so COOL!" Habiki had no time to react as the girl suddenly appeared in front of him and dragged him up by his collar, her muscular body being a clear definition of her great strength. But before she could slam him to the ground or throw him into the air again, his Mind Break shattered into the streams of her consciousness and scampered about until they were distorted enough to cause chaos.

"You midget, what . . . am I doing to you?" Gently, she set him down and before she could figure out that he'd tricked her, Habiki moved away and ran in the opposite direction, wondering how he could elude the female _and_ secure a qualification to the next round. The girl, realising that her target had slipped out of her grasp, growled out loud before chasing after him, her legs contracting powerfully as they dashed after the boy.

' _What do I do . . . what do I do?!'_ Meanwhile, with no one to fall back on for help, Suzuran found herself cornered against a wall as two male twins from Ayame's posse inched towards her with taunting smirks on their faces. Both her human and spider legs shuddered from the thought of what the boys were going to do to her and if not for the sturdy support behind, she would've almost collapsed.

' _. . . Support?'_

"Oi, Saku, she's getting away!" As quickly as she could, Suzuran used all eight of her spider legs to hoist herself up on the great wall built by Cementoss, using sticky thread on the points of each arachnid limb to traverse the vertical surface. _'Slowly . . . slowly . . . I can . . . I can do this!'_ She took in deep breaths to calm her thudding heart as she _tried_ not to look below and notice how high up her feet were dangling. _'I have to . . . I have to help the others!'_ Writing 'manly' on her palm and swallowing it, Suzuran deigned to look down at her teammates, gasping harshly when she noticed just how many metres above the ground she was.

But there were more pressing things at hand.

"HYAAAA!" Jobu, completely covered in gleaming iron, was taking on the giant Horie, also covered in gleaming iron, in a brutal match of punches and pub brawling. Habiki was being chased across the field by a fairly muscular, raging girl and Kagami was struggling against a student who was taking her on with what seemed to be a long-distance, projectile Quirk. And Ryo, unsurprisingly, was fighting against a team of four students all on his own.

However, while Suzuran was watching all this, she did not notice the small, sharp pins headed her away and yelped out in pain when one of them struck into her skin. Looking below, she noticed that one of the twin boys had fired the pin at her and was reading his finger guns to fire some more. Panicking, she began traversing the wall as fast as she could, trying to get away but both boys seemed to be bent on following her.

"Keep on tracking her, Kaku! Don't let her get away or else Ayame-sama's going to get on our nerves!"

"You got it, Saku! I'm going to follow spider girl to hell and back!"

' _At this rate, not only are we going to be disqualified, we're also going to end up in the infirmary!'_ Running as fast as he could, Habiki ran into a duo of students tracking one of the flies and using Mind Break, used them as dummies to range Quirk attacks on his pursuer. "Sorry guys," he muttered as he quickly passed by them, knowing they were about to be sacrificed to the girl behind him. _'Attack her with all you've got.'_

"We've gotta attack her with all we've got . . . wait, attack who?" The duo looked around, wondering what'd just popped up in their minds, before they were punched away by an invisible figure and shoved to the floor. As they lay groaning from pain, questioning what'd just happened, a tall, thickly muscled girl briefly appeared in their line of sight and disappeared. And, like them, Habiki was watching it all too.

' _I think I finally have an idea on what her Quirk might be._ ' He dropped to his fours and crawled between the legs of a group of students who had been on the verge of catching one of the golden flies. But with his Mind Break, he took their attention away from it and into the direction of the girl, who was beginning to get increasingly annoyed with his tactics.

"For a little midget you're surely a handful, ain't ya?" Cracking her knuckles, she scowled at the throng of students before readying herself to take all of them down. Instead of continuing to run away, Habiki stopped at a little distance away and stood facing the wall, his small shoulders rigid.

"Why do you all dislike us so much?" His voice was calm but seethed with the curiosity of a hundred unanswered questions. The other students, who'd been forming a wall between the raven-head and the girl, began to disperse in panic when they realised they'd lost the fly. Once they were gone, it was only the two students in the deserted part of the arena, an unspoken tension passing through the air.

At the question, she barked a short laugh before staring at his back with an amused grin, eyebrows perked. "Dislike . . .? You've got it wrong, midget. We don't _dislike_ you." She walked towards him, all of her earlier rage having subsided as a sombre look spread over her face, her tight lips relaxing into a straight line. Habiki half-turned at her footsteps, his gaze slipping to her face.

Until they rested on the cold numbness of her eyes.

"We're just doing what we need to do to save the livelihoods of our families." And, with the soft words, she'd disappeared but the powerful running stomps of her feet on the gravel were unmistakable.

Jumping away, Habiki pushed out an arm and yelled out, "Now, Asagumo-san!" Suzuran, who was clinging to the wall directly above him, fired out a large mass of sticky web that dropped down and clung to the invisible girl, rendering her unable to move. At the same time, Habiki used Mind Break to disperse the thoughts of the boys who had been pursuing his spider-legged classmate, causing them to momentarily freeze in their tracks. Not losing the chance, Suzuran fired out a similar web that dropped down on the boys and entwined them with each other, making them unable to freely move their limbs.

"YOU . . . YOU DAMN MIDGET!" The girl had become visible again, violently struggling against the sticky webs that refused to let go of her skin and outfit, plunging her into the depths of increasing rage. Suzuran swallowed her fear as she gradually crawled down the wall and came to stand behind Habiki, who was staring at the beaten girl with eerily calm eyes.

Squatting down in front of her, he softly smiled, "That's quite an extensive vocabulary of cuss words you have . . . Haninozuka Sekai-san." Her eyes shot wide with fear before narrowing down in even more anger, teeth gnashed as her mind flooded into a cesspool of humiliation, terror and resentment. But Habiki did not let her falter his smile and stated, "Although, I'm sure your 'Ayame-sama' is unaware of all your hidden feelings, isn't he?"

A wall cracked.

"YOU ASSHOLE-!" Sekai tore brutally through the spider webs and lunged for the black-haired boy, who moved away in just enough time to miss the grasp of her seething fingers, falling flat on his butt. But before she could reach for him again, she felt a cold hand slam against her back and immediately, heavy chains wrapped around her body and pinned her arms tightly to her sides.

Kagami panted heavily as she stared down at the motionless female Hulk on the ground and then at her wide-eyed classmates. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she husked, "Quick! Jobu and Kenshi-san need our help!"

* * *

 **Student Name: Helena Darkwood**

 **Quirk: Soul Projection**

 **Helena can project the electric currents of a person's body outside their corporeal form in the form of pale energy. She can use this energy to create barriers, heal minor injuries, steal energy currents from other people and create small offensive attacks.**

 **P.S: Helena receives many offers from many modelling agencies but always turns them down.**

* * *

 **(Arena B)**

' _Emotions . . . Manifest.'_

All his sadness and pain, all of his hidden, locked away feelings sheathed over his body in an ephemeral coat of emerald and filled his body with unparalleled power. Taking a running stance, Fuma slightly opened his squinted eyes to search for his target; and within seconds, they'd locked onto a golden fly that buzzed an erratic wavelength in the center of the arena.

' _Target acquired.'_

He shot off in a fast blitz that could easily rival Reiko, manoeuvring himself with ease amidst the crowding students as he jumped over small scuffles and twisted his body through narrow spaces to avoid any attacks directed his way. Each step created a shallow crater in the ground and sent ripples of power through the surrounding area, shaking through the very soles of the students' feet. It took him only a few seconds to traverse from the corner of the arena to the center, his target only a few feet away from him as it noticed his arrival and tried to zip away.

' _Too slow.'_

He pushed out a hand, the tips of his fingers brushing against the shimmering mechanical wings before-

 _ZWOOP._

Even Fuma was caught off-guard by the heavy body that crashed right into him, tackling against his back with such force that Emotions Manifest couldn't keep him from falling. As he collided against the hard ground, face-planting into the gravel, he saw the fly buzzing away towards the north in victory, already attracting other pursuers. He couldn't keep the groan from escaping his lips but when he rolled over and grabbed the person to throw him off-

Midnight hair and hot metal flashed before his eyes.

Haruka, a small, bleeding cut under his right eye, grumbled as he uneasily dawdled to his feet, his knees and elbows scraped and throbbing. Shaking dust particles from his spikes, he muttered, "Thanks for getting in my way, Kanashimi-san. Now we've both lost that fly."

An unfamiliar surge of anger flared beneath Fuma's skin but it dissipated just as quickly as it'd bloomed. Only letting the faintest of scowls mar his impassive visage, he slicked back untidy strands of his hair before squaring up his shoulders and turning away, not wanting to waste any more time. "Since you are my classmate, Itou-san, I am letting you off the hook this time. But next time . . .," he looked at the other boy over his shoulder, expression frosty, ". . . I will not hesitate to destroy you if you impede me."

Haruka, not in the least fazed, shrugged his shoulders. "Same." Then, powering up his feet, he took off in the other direction.

Fuma whipped around as he let his emotional energy take over his body once again, scanning the area for a new target. The fact that all eight targets were still available was a big sense of relief because, very soon, he caught sight of a small fight happening between two groups of students as they vied for the same fly.

' _This time . . . I will not fail.'_

He dashed off for the second time, drawing looks of awe and fear from most students as he passed by them, feet barely touching the ground as they jumped across. Raising both arms, he fired two waves of emerald energy and they crashed over the two fighting groups, washing over the half-dozen students as they were thrown off their feet. Fuma had, however, carefully avoided harming the fly and it remained buzzing in the air, staring with confusion at its fallen pursuers.

But before the tall boy could capture it, he felt something sturdy latch onto his ankle and try to pull him to the ground – looking down, he noticed it was one of the fallen students who was trying to drag him down with his simian tail.

"Don't . . . Don't let him steal our target!"

All six students had picked themselves off the ground and thrown themselves wholeheartedly into trying to beat the Hero course student, fully unleashing their Quirks. Feeling faint excitement pump through him, he let Emotions Manifest heighten its control over him and fill his body with power.

' _. . . My path to being a true Hero now begins.'_

' _Damn, it's gonna be difficult finding another target now.'_ Haruka picked himself up from the ground for the third time, finally feeling the pain of his injuries settle into his bones; and he hadn't even qualified the first round yet. _'This is turning out to be more difficult than I thought.'_ He easily dodged a strike another student made at him and without wasting any time, pummelled a powerful left hook at the boy, knocking him out immediately. A screaming girl, who looked numb with fear, sprung upon Haruka but as soon as she was close enough, he struck out an arm that hit her right below her ribcage. She coughed out phlegm and collapsed to her knees, tears spilling out her eyes.

"You monster . . . you hit a girl?!" The female's companion, who had planned to knock Haruka out with a surprise attack once she'd distracted him, froze in shock. He realised that was a mistake because the boy was upon him within seconds and had pinned him to the floor in, twisting his arm painfully.

"A battlefield is no place for chivalry." The student's screams as his bones and muscles sprained in retaliation made no dent in the dark-haired boy's heart. "If you let your guard down just because she's a girl, you're dead."

"You're absolutely right about that."

A wall of light flared between Haruka and his target, its force so great that it pushed the taller boy from his dominant stance and to the ground. His limbs tingled with little sizzles of electricity but as the light barrier reached towards him, edging in a rectangular stream, Haruka crawled back rapidly on all fours before jumping up and launching himself away to a distance.

"Th-Thank you so much, Darkwood-san!" His eyes narrowed as he saw a familiar black-haired girl offer a hand to the boy he'd just beaten up, her gaze not leaving his figure.

' _If I'm not mistaken, she's Yuki's-'_

"Be more careful, Hosoya." A pale amber glow surrounded Helena as she transferred some of her 'energy' to her injured classmate's hand, which looked painfully sprained. "We can't afford to lose right no-"

Before she could complete her sentence, Haruka came barrelling at her within the few seconds she'd taken her eyes off him, catching the girl completely off guard. Her muscles contracted in pain as she landed harshly on the ground, limbs flailing aimlessly to grab at the boy. However, he grabbed her hands before she could hit him and twisted her wrists, causing Helena to suck in a pained breath.

"You were saying?" he quirked an eyebrow, steel fingers pressing hard into her pale skin; she bit down on her lower lip, refusing to scream. But before Haruka could permanently damage her wrists, Hosoya appeared behind the boy and tried to punt him with a paper-made club. The sound of his running footsteps and exhilarated breathing, however, had pricked the neon-eyed boy's ears and he rolled out of the attack's way, finally letting go of Helena.

"Darkwood-san, are you okay?" Helena groaned as she shook her wrists, wincing as the muscles retaliated with pain and soreness; blue bruises had become hard-pressed into the white flesh, her nerves going numb from the pain. Haruka, realising that he was getting distracted, took off running the other way to find a new target.

Before something in the near distance caught his eye.

"WAIT JUST A MOMENT, YOU LITTLE FUCKER!" Reiko was hot on the heels of a zipping insect as it took her on a merry round of the arena, the two appearing nothing more than golden blurs to the students they passed by. Due to her increasing frustration and inability to grasp the tiny robot, the blonde had forgotten that she was supposed to be working on a team and had left two of her classmates in the dust, relentlessly chasing after an annoying insect that was keeping ahead of her by only a few steps. She zigzagged between the other students and their scuffles, her long ponytail slapping everyone in the face – but no matter how much he accelerated her Ankle Wheels and lunged towards the fly, it would speed up and escape her grasp at the last moment.

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!" Reiko took a sharp turn, shifting to a graceful glide on one leg as she rode around the curve of the wall's base, taking a sharp turn and retracing her earlier course. Without missing a beat, she surged forward on her wheels, brushing past everyone without breaking or slowing her movements, unconsciously moving towards where her teammates were.

"~Shimizu-kun, Shimamura-chan is coming back!~" Hoshi turned back to face Akaname, blue curls floating above her head as the boy dropped three students to the ground, their bodies lethargic due to the effects of Incense.

"As soon as she gets here, slow down the gravity around her, Fujita-san!" Hoshi's eyes glowed luminously as she nodded, chips of gravel and the small stones in her vicinity vibrating. Although she was mostly a blur, Reiko's figure was getting closer and closer and a few inches ahead of her, buzzed the fly.

' _Just a little more and . . . huh?!'_ Akaname turned his head to the left and his eyes widened as they caught a glimpse of the figure closing in rapidly towards them. "Fujita-san!" Hoshi turned back, confused at the frightening alarm in his voice. "Stop Shimamura-san! Itou-san is headed this way!"

' _Just . . . a little faster!'_ Reiko winced as she forced her Ankle Wheels to speed up, the friction between them and the ground beginning to hurt her.

' _This time, I'm not letting it get away from my hands.'_ Haruka bent his legs as steam flared from the metal soles of his feet, using his palms to steer his direction. Although he was aware of the blonde's pursuing figure, Reiko was completely unaware that he was headed their way.

"Shimamura-chan, Itou-kun, stop!" Meanwhile, Hoshi waved her arms around frantically, screaming at the top of her lungs in panic. "You'll crash into each other! YOU'LL CRASH INTO EACH OTHER!" Akaname racked his brain for a way to stop the collision but he was already aware that at the speeds they were going, it would be almost impossible to do anything to stop them.

' _I'm going-!'_ Reiko jumped into the air, completely unaware of her surroundings.

' _-to capture it.'_ Haruka lunged forward, fingers reaching to grab it.

"FUJITA-SAN!" Akaname tried to grab her. "MO-!"

Hoshi's eyes squeezed shut, feet pushing off the ground as Reiko and Haruka rushed into her from both sides.

Time seemed to slow down for the next few seconds.

Reiko, finally realising that she was going to crash into someone, made a reckless stop by skidding around on her wheels but lost her balance in the process and crashed to the ground. Haruka tried to grab the fly for himself but he ended up speeding forward so much that he completely bypassed it and found himself landing face-forward in the gravel. The robot slowed down its movements, thinking it'd shaken off its pursuers before-

A gloved hand caught it with a quick pounce.

"You've given us quite a bit of trouble, haven't you?" Akaname sighed deeply, exhausted, as he stared at the now still fly in his palms. And then, his gaze moved upwards even as Reiko's groans rumbled in the background.

The overbearing weight of what he'd done finally crushed down on him.

Hoshi was hovering in the air upside down, amber eyes wide as the world around her rotated with a topsy-turvy view. Her whole body felt completely light as she suspended herself several feet above the ground, heart beating rapidly within her chest.

She was . . . flying?

' _Did I . . . Did I just . . .?!'_

But there was something else she wanted to know before asking herself the big question.

"~Shimizu-kun!" Hoshi sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of her head. "So . . . how do I get down?~"

* * *

 **(Outside Arena)**

"Ssssssssso . . . you sssssstole Nissssssshiya'sssss target?"

"~Mou, don't say it like that, Kazu-chi!~" Kazumi's left eyebrow twitched at the nickname but she made sure to keep the expression on her face stone cold and neutral – there were people watching, after all. Mashiro cupped his cheeks with both palms as he leaned towards her, smiling in his usual disturbing way. "~I merely saw an opportunity and took it!~"

Resisting the urge to slap him away with his tail so he did not infect her with his germs, Kazumi killed her retort in her throat as she saw two other figures exit the walled arena. She did not need to squint to see who they were – while one of the students was someone she'd fully expected, the other was a bit of a surprise.

"~Aka-chi, Fuma-chi!~" Mashiro stood up from his seat in the qualifiers' booth as he happily waved towards the sombre-faced males. The latter proceeded to ignore him as he quietly walked to a lonely corner seat; Akaname, with a rueful sigh, took the seat next to the snow-haired boy and collapsed with hunched shoulders. _'Prissy boy sitting in that posture?'_ Even Kazumi couldn't help her curiosity at the sorrowful aura that surrounded him, completely different to the confident and graceful air he always carried himself with.

"~Aka-chi, are you okay?~" Mashiro tilted his head as he blinked at the pink-haired boy. Akaname took a deep sigh and went completely silent for half-a-minute, staring at the sturdy cement walls longingly. Then, composing himself a little, he looked down at the ground and mumbled:

"I'm a traitor, Madou-san."

"~Eh~?" Mashiro smiled at the grave statement, question marks floating around his head.

Akaname raised a shaking gloved palm and stared at it, eyes hollow. "An abhorrent traitor who took advantage of his team and abandoned them when his task had been accomplished. My hand may have moved on its own but . . . I still . . . betrayed them."

Mashiro tilted his head even more, completely confused. "~Whaaaaaaat?~"

"And yet . . ." the bespectacled went on murmuring to himself, almost overdosed on guilt. "They were still sweet enough to smile at me . . ."

 _( "Don't ya worry about us, Prez!" Reiko saluted him, her elbows, shins and face covered in scratches but unable to affect the exuberant grin on her face. "We're gonna win this thing and meet up with ya soon!"_

" _~Everything's fine, Shimizu-kun!~" Hoshi tipped up on her toes to pat his shoulder, somehow having managed to reach the ground. "~I and Shimamura-chan will definitely qualify! You can count on us!~" )_

"Fujita-san . . . Shimamura-san . . .," Akaname lowered his head beneath clasped palms. "Please win . . ."

* * *

 **(Arena A)**

 _( "Is this . . . for me?"_

" _Yes!" Asuna grinned excitedly at the wide-eyed raven-head, holding the flower crown she'd so painstakingly made in moss-dusted hands. Inori, however, looked at it with such quiet sobriety and unreadable eyes that the brunette's smile began fading. "You . . . don't like it?" she mumbled, shoulders beginning to quiver._

 _But before her hands could retreat to her sides, Inori quickly grabbed them._

" _No, that's not it . . .!" Asuna was taken aback at the defensive look on her face; it was, after all, the first time she'd seen the curly-haired girl make such an expression. Eyebrows furrowed and eyes scrunched up, Inori babbled, "That's not it at all, Asuna! I . . . I love this! It's so beautiful . . . and pretty . . ."_

 _And then, the small hands had left hers._

 _Gripping the hem of her pleated skirt, Inori stared at her feet, her voice receding to its natural monotone. "It's just that . . . this is the first time . . . I've received a present from someone . . ."_

 _Asuna's eyes widened._

 _Inori's lips twisted in an awkward grin as she hesitantly turned to look at her friend. "So I . . . don't know . . . how to thank you for it . . ."_

 _And before she could say anything else, Asuna had thrown her skinny arms around her._

" _Inori-chan, I . . . I will make one for you everyday!" She cried, tears spilling rapidly down her cheeks as her words turned into illegible garble. "Don't worry because, from now on, you will always receive gifts from me! I promise!"_

 _For a moment, the 6-year old was completely still, hands limp and hanging even as her shorter friend snuggled into her shoulder. And just as Asuna thought she'd offended her and was about to pull away-_

 _Shaking arms awkwardly latched around her in reciprocation._

" _. . . Thank you." )_

"OUT OF MY WAY, MONGRELS!" Asuna ran around the arena with fast and brutal movements, leaving behind a path of giant tree trunks, thorny creepers and razor leaves in her wake. She rampaged around like an unleashed beast, uncaring of who got how hurt; because right now, everyone was an enemy. An enemy she had to beat down.

Mostly thanks to Asuna, Arena A had turned into a complete massacre site with uprooted grounds and plant debris hurled over half the site. Jigoku watched from afar at the berserk brunette and wondered if she was doing it on purpose; after seeing her in the mock hostage situation, he wouldn't put such a reckless and violent plan behind her. However . . .

He fired a smoke card at a bunch of his opponents, letting the thick cover disorientate them before firing a barrage of thick iron aces. As high-pitched groans and squeals emerged from within the smoke, he sighed in satisfaction – they had found their targets.

' _Yup, knocked out cold.'_ The fog dissipated to reveal a trio of unconscious students on the ground, their eyes rolled back in their heads and an ugly purple bruise already forming at their temples. Wiping off the perspiration beads that dribbled down his forehead, Jigoku finally set his sights on the closest target he could see.

His smiled widened when he saw a golden fly moving in his direction. And it tensed when he noticed that Asuna was hot on its heels.

"Ah . . . this is going to be difficult."

"GODDAMMIT!"

"What's up, Ryo 2.0? Am I too fast for ya?" Ryota gritted his teeth in irritation as Aisen ran in circles around him, his speed and stamina greatly boosted by the buffs of Shine Burning. The electromagnetic field the taller blond had formed around himself to trap any close insect that got in his way was now unable to stabilise due to the rapid movements of the shorter blond, who was running around like a rabbit on a sugar rush. Crackles of electricity sparkled from the luminous sphere that gleamed around Ryota but Aisen was much too quick for his electromagnetic field to trap.

"Extra voltage!" The barrier flared up with more power and the nearby students were either forced out of the sparkling golden field or paralysed within its bounds. However, Aisen buffed up his flames at the same time, making sure to create enough speed to resist the barrier's electromagnetism.

"Your sparks too slow for my flames? Not enough power for you to feed on, pal?" The constant harping was eating away at Ryota's nerves; every time he looked in one direction, Aisen would've already crossed to the other. Every time he was close enough to grab hold of, he would move away right before his hands could electrocute him. This wasn't even a serious competition anymore . . . it was like the lavender-eyed boy was playing some sort of amusing game with him.

"You may be Lena's classmate but you don't get to hit on her, you Chargebolt rip-off!" Hot flames blazed too close to Ryota and he was forced to move away, disabling his barrier in the process. Grunting as he back-flipped to avoid the constant fiery showers, he could feel his mind begin to overheat from the insults. "You butter back of, boy, before I grill you like an over-cooked sausage!" Aisen chased after him, arms fully encased in brightly burnished flames that lit him up with whole new confidence.

"Pretty confident in yourself, aren't you?" Ryota let the insults sink into his skin, knowing that they would be the fuel he would use to spite himself to progression. He dodged Aisen's fast but inaccurate fireballs, using his electric sparks to nullify any that managed to reach him. The other students made sure to avoid the golden-haired duo and keep to their own but there was one creature that seemed to be interested in their fight. And Ryota kept his sights peeled on it.

"Of course I am!" Aisen announced with passionate earnestness, finally stopping. His eyes sparkled with determination as he yelled, "Because there are people who are waiting to see me succeed!"

At those words, Ryota's chest tightened.

 _( "You_ _ **have**_ _to avenge him."_

 _The little, curly-haired child stared down at the dusty tatami mats with tearful eyes, his small fists shaking as vehemently as his lower lip._

 _The woman with the cold eyes bent forward and icily whispered in his ear:_

" _You_ _ **have**_ _to avenge your father." )_

"And . . . so are mine."

Ryota stopped his movements and suddenly created a barrier, lighting up the area around him and Aisen with golden sparkles. As strong volts vibrated around him, the latter buffed his flames even more, ignoring their high energy consumption. "What's up?" Aisen smirked, bouncing on the balls of his feet to show his opponent that the paralysing effects of the field had no effect on him. "You know you're too slow for me, Unagi! So just give it u-!"

"MAXIMUM VOLTAGE!"

Aisen rushed forward as the barrier around him strengthened greatly, moving his legs so fast that the currents were unable to keep a hold on him. Lighting up his entire right arm with hot flames, he swung forward to finally end things-

-Before a huge trunk came from the side and knocked into his side with such force that he could feel muscles snapping.

"GWAAAAAAAHHHH!" Dribbles of saliva choked out of the shorter boy as he collapsed to the floor, his eye balls rolling back and forth in their sockets as a blinding pain shook through his body. What had just happened? Had Asuna attacked him? But no . . . she was at the other side of the arena . . .

Breathing in large gulps of air through his wet mouth, Aisen clasped the right side of his stomach before reeling from the pain, his head spinning. Through his giddy vision, he could see electric sparks fritz over the trunk, the barrier finally setting its paralysing effect on him.

"You are certainly fast, Yuki-san, but you need to be more aware of your surroundings."

Ryota stepped over Aisen's prone and heavily breathing body and grabbed the curious fly that'd become trapped in his barrier while following them. Rolling the still robot between his thumb and finger, he gazed down at the blond who had been playing with him until only a few seconds ago.

' _So when I was distracted . . .'_ Aisen felt his eyelids become heavy as he finally realised what'd happened. _'He used his barrier to control the trunk and attack me with it . . .'_

The barrier finally flickered off as Ryota tossed his prize and caught it again. "Class 1-A is certainly filled with powerhouses. I won't deny that. But . . ."

His eyes narrowed.

". . . Don't you _dare_ underestimate the rest of us."

* * *

 **ED 3 – Itsuka Kono Namidaga by Little Glee Monster**


	29. Ch 28 - Clincher

**OP 3 – Anomie by Amazarashi**

* * *

 **Chapter 28 – Clincher**

 **(Arena D)**

' _I_ _ **hate**_ _you stupid Heroes.'_

Oneida Ayame chewed his thumb nail as he gleefully watched the two Hero students gradually begin to get overwhelmed in battle against his lackeys, evident by the struggling grimaces on their faces and the excessive perspiration drenching their bodies. "Just a little bit more and . . ."

' _So this guy has some sort of copy Quirk?!'_ Jobu gritted his teeth and raised an arm to block a temple punch from Horie, loud sonorous vibrations reverberating through the air as the hard metals clanged against each other. With focused movements and good agility, not to mention his raw physical strength, the big guy was giving Jobu a lot of trouble.

' _Even if he can match the heat and hardness of my steel, I still have way more experience in the utilisation of Steel Forge!'_ Ducking under a hard punch, Jobu front flipped under Horie's legs to reach his back, heating his arms as much as he could in the process. As the big guy turned around, clearly taken aback by the move, Jobu quickly moved up towards his face and managed to score a harsh uppercut.

"Guh!" The powerful, hot punch banged right through Horie's jaw and into his skull. A second, well-timed one aimed at his lower stomach was enough to disorientate him and throw him on the ground.

"OH YEAH, REAL STEEL!" The boy grinned, showing off a row of grinning razor teeth, as he punched the air in a show of victory. Staring down at the groaning ogre, he rumbled, "Gotta strike when the iron's hot, ya know?!"

But before he could move to help Ryo, he felt something wrap tightly around his waist and hurl him up in the air.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT THE HEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!" Jobu felt vertigo force bile up his food pipe as his feet were pulled off the ground and he was dragged towards the sky, the looming grey walls and snatches of blue curving speedily in his chaotic vision. Forcing vomit down his stomach, he heated his palms and grabbed onto whatever had wrapped around his waist.

But his hands found nothing, grasping only at air.

' _What the-?!'_ All Jobu saw as he was smacked hard on the ground were black tendrils, which disappeared as soon as he was dumped down. Although Steel Forge had absorbed most of the shock from the impact, the hard ringing in his cranium created a powerful migraine that seemed to rip his brain into two.

"Don't think I'll forgive you for hurting Horie, you recycle waste." His vision shifted to create multiple illusions of the boy referred to as 'Ayame-sama', who had various slithering black tendrils hover around him, reaching up from the ground. As Jobu tried to get up on shaky arms, reeling from his headache, Ayame assumed an attack position and growled, "LEARN TO BOW TO YOUR SUPERIORS!"

The black tendrils moved so fast towards Jobu that he could not even move away to evade them; within seconds, they'd wrapped around his arms, legs, waist and neck, tightening their hold on him in an act of restraint.

' _Why . . . isn't my Steel Forge burning them . . .?'_ He could feel his vision blur as his neck was strangled by the tendril, chest burning due to lack of air. _'Even though . . . I'm almost at my limit . . .'_ Parts of his P.E. uniform had burned away from the extreme temperature of his body, revealing the metal skin underneath. Jobu parted his lips, throat gasping for oxygen. The more he tried to wrench his limbs free, the more the black binds tightened their hold.

Giggling softly, Ayame smirked, "Cool, isn't it? My Quirk, Shadow Bind." Jobu gagged out loud, dry coughs and hoarse breaths, a trail of saliva dribble down his chin. Ayame's eyes narrowed with glee at the Hero trainee's struggles, a thin smile stretching from one cheek to the other. "With full control over what my shadow can do, I can hurt you in many ways as long as you're on the ground." With two powerful tugs, the black binds forced the grey-haired boy on his knees as the other boy approached him with teasing strides. "And you know the best part about it, trash can?" Jobu sputtered illegibly, eyes squeezed tight as the shadow vines tried to compel his head on the ground, having forcibly pressed his palms to the ground in a show of supplication.

Ayame raised a leg, positioning it over the sputtering teenager's head. "You can't even _touch_ them."

He dropped his leg, intending to forcibly slam his head to the ground in a "respectful" bow. But without warning, a barrage of small and sharp projectiles dug into the general education student's shins and forced him to withdraw with a pained scream.

"WHO THE FUCK DID THAT?!" Ayame turned in the direction the turquoise shards had come from, his shadow vines unwrapping from Jobu and swiftly moving towards his new threat. The latter fell on his elbows, saliva dripping from his lips on the gravel as he inhaled large gulps of air through both his nose and mouth.

Ryo, bleeding, bruised and with his PE uniform ripped in several places, formed a crystalline wall in barely enough time to block the black lianas that tried to grab hold of him. As they passed through the turquoise structure, the shadow lines diverted away from their original pathway and disappeared. Ayame, appalled at the sudden disappearance of his weapons, turned and ran towards Horie as the emerald-haired delinquent ran towards him, crying profanities.

"FUCKING STAY WHERE YOU ARE, YOU SHIT-STAINED DIAPER!" Ryo positioned his fists in straight lines and began firing high-speed crystal shards towards Ayame. The boy yelped as a few of them cut into his skin – but every time he tried to use his shadow vines to swat them away, they would change direction as soon as they came into contact with the crystals.

' _Why the hell isn't Shadow Bind working?! Does that illiterate punk have some sort of extra negation attached to his Quirk?!'_ Ayame skidded to his knees next to Horie, violently shaking the groaning boy. "Oi, Horie, wake the fuck up!" The giant blinked slowly, blue eyes staring at the bleary, frightened face of his master. "You're supposed to protect me, Horie! Get up, GET UP!"

Seething with overpowering rage, Ryo growled, "I'm gonna rip off your fucking arms and eat them, you little shit." But as he took another step forward, an overpowering weakness crashed through his body, causing him to almost stumble and fall. _'Shit . . . not now, dammit.'_ He pressed a rough palm against his temple, vision swimming as a large, starved growl erupted from his stomach. "Fuck, man," he muttered, fingers tightening against sweaty locks. "Fuck this shit . . ."

Running footsteps came to a stop beside him but before Ryo could turn back, an unpleasantly familiar voice grated against his ears. "You need to give your Quirk a rest now, Kenshi-san." His teeth bared automatically at the sight of Hara, as calm and composed as ever with his big-ass, gentle eyes. "Otherwise, your hunger will render you unconscious." Behind him stood spider girl, pale with fright.

"Jobu!"

As Kagami's voice pricked his ears, Ryo turned.

"I-I'm okay, Kita!" Despite the encouraging grin, Jobu's voice was hoarse and his eyes rapidly blinked back pained tears. But with admirable tenacity, he staggered up to his feet and wiped off the drool stains that marred the metal of his chin. "I've still got a lot of fight left in me, ya know?!"

Kagami pursed her lips, gazing at him with conflicted eyes. "Jobu . . ."

' _Why the fuck aren't they backing down already?!'_ Ayame slammed his right foot forward and tendril-like shadows raced their way across the ground towards the childhood acquaintances, pivoting off the ground to wrap around their throats. However, their directions were thwarted by thick crystals fired off by Ryo and the shadows immediately retreated.

' _Now I get it!'_ As the beret-wearing boy screamed, Habiki had an epiphany – but the sight of Ryo losing his footing and falling to the ground snatched his breath away. "Kenshi-san!" he surged forward to hold the delinquent but the tall teen stomped a foot down and thrust out his arm, preventing the raven-head from getting any closer.

"Don't you fucking _touch_ me, Hara." He grit out, sweat dripping down his face in rivulets, eyes closed with starved pain. "I'm not out yet."

Habiki's lip quivered as words began to claw out of his throat. But he bit his tongue and clenched his palms, forcing himself to close up. _'Who am I to blame him . . .? After all, it is_ _ **my**_ _fault . . .'_

( _"D-Don't worry, alright?! I'm gonna beat the crap out of any asshole that tries to touch you!" )_

". . . I'm gonna beat the crap out of all of pretentious Heroes."

Habiki's head snapped up as a giant shadow fell over him, Suzuran gasping in utter horror as her frightened eyes stared ahead. Jobu and Kagami retreated towards them, faces tensed, while Ryo spat out on the ground, one hand clamped tightly around his stomach.

"I'M GOING TO BREAK ALL OF YOU INTO PIECES!" Ayame muttered in a louder voice, as Horie stood up on his feet beside him. The giant teenager placed a hand on Cementoss' boundary wall as he staggered to his full height but as his muscular arm began hardening into dull grey, Habiki realised that he wasn't grabbing onto the wall for support.

' _His Quirk . . . I've figured it out!'_ Ryo, Suzuran, Jobu and Kagami felt the raven-head's voice echo distantly in their minds, accompanied by a sense of enlightenment. _'Unlike Phantom Thief's Copy, Horie can only copy the texture or material of something he touches! Which is why instead of someone weaker, he opted for copying Jobu-san's Steel Forge!'_

"Good job, Hara!" Jobu grinned at the boy but tension persisted on his face. "That's why I didn't see him use the forge part of my Quirk!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" Ryo panted out loud, trying to mask his growling stomach with his loud voice. Brandishing two medium-sized crystal blades that jutted out of his palms, he growled, "But how the fuck are we supposed to defeat him without knowing a fucking weakness?!"

As a pair of golden flies hovered above the group's head, Horie had completely taken up a cement form; encased from muscles to muscle in impenetrable concrete, he smashed both his fists together, sending out rippling vibrations through the air. Beside him, Ayame's face slowly erupted into a vengeful smile as black, shadowy tendrils began hovering around him from the ground.

' _If he can adopt the material's strengths . . .,'_ the cogs and gears of Habiki's brain were gradually accelerating, _'. . . that should mean he gets their weaknesses as well.'_

Throwing a hand forward, Ayame screamed, "Break all of them, Horie!" As the cement giant launched into a sprint towards the quintet, the shadow tendrils accompanied his movements, wriggling ominously as they surged forward. But something about his movements had changed and it did not escape the notice of any of the five.

' _He's become much slower!'_ Indeed, compared to when the giant had copied Jobu's Steel Forge form, his movements now were much more brittle and blocky.

As everyone took combat positions, keeping their pain, excitement, fear and anxiety at bay, Habiki made a mental announcement. _'Guys, we haven't lost!'_

Horie threw a powerful punch at the group, the black tendrils lashing out.

Habiki's eyes glowed silver for the briefest of moments. _'There's still a way by which we can defeat him!'_

. . . . . . . . . .

"Burn . . . they burn! My eyes burn!" A lanky boy lay screaming on the ground, palms pressed tight against the upper half of his face as he writhed back-and-forth in agony. "I'm blinded, I'm blinded! AAAAAGGGHHHH!" Around him lay a scattered group of other students, screaming in the same way about their sight having been permanently damaged as they massaged their eyes.

"Oh em gee, for reals?!" Hayate adjusted his sunglasses, staring down at his defeated opponents with contemptuous disgust. "Oh shut it, guys! I told you it's only temporary! Bring to an immediate halt your whining and snivelling!" The black cape that sat snugly around his shoulders had several rips tearing through it and was covered in a sheathe of dust; which was ironic considering the innately neat appearance of his whole body. Tightly clasped in Hayate's left hand was a motionless fly.

"Prez!" He turned in the direction of the chirp to see Akane running towards him; dishevelled and faintly wounded (her front bangs had been burned to a frizz) but cheerful nonetheless. Seeing the golden object in her hands assured him of her accomplished victory even before she exclaimed, "Your plan worked, Prez! Akane caught one too!" She held up the unmoving insect for him to clearly see.

"Excellent work, Yoshida-san!" he flashed her a thumbs up, white teeth dazzling in show as his lips spread apart. "I most commend y-!"

"UUUUURRP!" However, the giant belch the brunette let out released a flurry of crimson bubbles headed straight for Hayate and he immediately rushed away, squealing in panic. But he wasn't fast enough and some of them collided with his cape and burst into flames.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH, OH ALL MIGHT, HALP, HALP!" The bald male tried to stomp them out, moving around in circles as he panicked, screaming as the heat singed him. "Yoshida-san, stop standing there like a useless raccoon and help me!"

Despite hearing her class representative's pleads, Akane's attention was fixated on an intense battle happening across at the other side of the arena. It was the group of five from 1-A against a giant and a beret-wearing boy from the general education course.

As Hayate finally succeeded in putting out the fire and a single exit opened for them in the walls, she murmured worriedly, "Akane wonders if they'll be alright . . ."

* * *

 **(Arena A)**

 _( He remembered running towards the horde of policemen in front of the yellow-taped house, screaming, "Where is she?!" )_

"Yuki-san, wake up!"

 _( He remembered his heart speeding up dangerously as cold fear set in; and he instinctively reached for his twin, Al's, hand. His mother, Ms. Fujimaru, Mr. Shirogane, the police men . . . all regarded him with pitying eyes . . . )_

"Hey, Yuki-san, I can see your eyes! Don't shut them! Don't you dare shut them!"

 _( He remembered letting go of Al's hand and slipping away from their protests and grabs, kicking open the front door and almost sliding on the pool of blood that littered the once-familiar corridors. "No . . ." )_

"YUKI-SAN, HELENA IS IN TROUBLE!"

 _( Helena sat on the other side of the pool of blood, the two large gashes on her back the source of the thick crimson puddles. As he called out her name, she ceased her sobbing and turned back to look at him._

" _Aisen . . ."_

 _The blond uttered a shrill scream as he collapsed on the ground; for Helena had no eyes, only two bleeding, fleshy holes from where her eyeballs had been gouged out. )_

"HELENAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Aisen sat up with a terrified yell and felt vomit rise up his throat, the bruise Ryota had given him throbbing excruciatingly in retaliation. As he tried to swallow the bile with a clamped hand over his mouth, he saw Jigoku through the teary corners of his eyes, patting his back comfortingly. "Sorry for lying, Yuki-san, but I had no choice." As Aisen managed to successfully repress his nausea, he noticed that unlike his usual smug self, the horned boy looked harrowed and nervous. "If we don't do something quickly, we're both gonna fail this round."

Lavender eyes widened in fear as two voices broke through the chaotic fights and destruction that littered the arena. "Yay, we did it, Yukiji-kun!" The twin-tailed girl from 1-B was jumping up-and-down with her arms wrapped around her boyfriend, a golden insect clenched tightly in her palms. "I knew our love would take us all the way!"

"I knew we'd make it, Honami-chan!" Aisen's chest sank deeper and deeper as the boy kissed his girlfriend, rubbing the back of her head as he held his own robotic target in the air. "With your Level Up, my Armament and our intense passion for each other, there's nothing that could get in our way!"

As the couple celebrated their victory with cuddles, kisses and excited cheering, Aisen could only rasp, "How . . . how many are left?"

Wiping off his sweat, Jigoku mentally counted the ones who'd already qualified from their arena and replied, "Only three." The blond's pupils narrowed in desolation, his face turning gaunt and pale. Swallowing nervously, the former's gaze slipped from his friend's despairing visage to a figure in the distance. "But the worse part is our main opponent for now . . ."

Even without looking her way, Aisen knew who he was talking about.

"COME AT ME! WHY'RE YOU RUNNING AWAY?!" An explosion of giant trunks, thick vines and sharp leaves gyrated around Asuna as she used her plants to destroy and topple anyone who got in her way. Her twintails had almost come undone and her hands were bruised with the rough branches and thorny vines she manipulated but she made no motion of stopping. With swift, powerful movements and accurate control, she was set on beating every last person in the arena.

"For some reason, the remaining targets seem to have gathered around Nishiya." As Jigoku said, Aisen could barely make out three golden dots hovering over the carnage Asuna was creating. "Whether they enjoy a crazy chick's show or are attracted to the plants' scent, I have no idea, but she has done a good job of collecting them around her."

Jigoku surveyed her movements carefully as she gave a brutal beat-down to all those who dared to near her, unrelenting in her attacks and refusing to give up her spot. "Now, I've thought about all the possible situations we can find ourselves in – one case being, Asuna knocks everyone out and exhausts herself to the point that we can easily take her down with our combined attack and grab our targets. But, of course, the period of wait means the risk of collateral damage to or capture of the other two flies and we have no idea what the extent of her stamina is. So I don't really think we can follow this plan."

The words poured through one ear and out the other as Aisen stared listlessly at the ground.

"Number two-ouch." Jigoku winced as a boy was knocked out cold by a branch that hit him straight in the jaw. "We try to negotiate with Asuna and offer her our help in defeating the remaining opponents in exchange for two of the flies for, after all, there are enough for the three of us." Aisen remained quiet, unblinking and unmoving. "But in her crazy chick mode, chances that she'll listen to us are pathetically slim. I can see her just swatting the both of us away as if we were mosquitoes. Besides, I doubt she needs any help."

Jigoku's words jarred the blond's mind with the memory of the brutal surprise attack Ryota had launched on him. The recollection of the excruciating pain he'd felt then made nausea pool at the bottom of his stomach.

"Number three and the riskiest one yet the one with the most amount of success." He sucked in a deep breath, half disbelieving that he was about to lay down the foundation of something so reckless. "We try to- Yuki-san?"

During his rambles, the horned boy had failed to notice the wide-eyed stare Aisen had been shooting him all this while.

"How . . .," the blond mumbled, his voice nothing but a hollow breathless whisper, ". . . can you be so calm?"

". . . What?" Jigoku blinked back at him unsurely, rhetoric drowned out by Asuna's enraged cries as she destroyed everything around her.

"It's impossible, can't you see?" Aisen cracked a forced smile, eyes distant and soulless as they moved from his classmate's face to his shaking hands. The taller boy noticed how badly his fingers were shivering. "Beating Nishiya . . . is impossible for us." He continued speaking with an eerie calmness that was completely unbefitting of his usual cheery self . . . and Jigoku found himself hating it. "Maybe," the grin on Aisen's face widened almost insanely, "if we had someone like Enoshima or Tetsuya on our team, we stood a chance . . ."

Jigoku never considered himself someone who was easily angered. But for some reason, Aisen's words made the blood running through his veins threaten to boil and erupt.

 _( "Mom, why are you crying?!"_

 _The small boy quickly pulled out a colourful handkerchief from the front pocket of his black vest, an accurate emulation of one of his mother's most famous tricks, before jumping up to dab at her wet tears. Even though he'd asked her the question, somewhere, deep down in his mind, he was already aware of the painful answer._

 _But when she smiled at him through wet eyes and embraced him tightly, all of that pain was suppressed with the tight affection that surrounded him._

 _He grinned as he encouragingly patted her on the back, mischievous face positioned in the crook of her shoulder. He was trying, really, he was trying very hard. He was trying his level best._

 _But after a few minutes, his mother whispered, "I'm sorry, Ji-ji. I truly am sorry."_

 _And despite trying with all his heart and soul to hold back his tears, Jigoku burst out wailing, unleashing the flood of emotions he'd tightly kept sealed away._

 _He loved his mother with all his heart. Hana, Mana and Senshi, everyone was very important to him but not as much as his mother. For her, he was ready to give himself away, if need be._

 _But the fact that he could not chase after his dream for her sake was still very painful. )_

"So Enoshima-san was right after all, eh?"

Aisen's eyes blinked as they stared after Jigoku, who languidly stood up on his feet and dusted his nicked PE pants. The smirk on his face was no longer flirtatious but hard-edged and angry. "Damn, it sure is a bullet to my ego that I was not only proved wrong by the busty lamia chick but that blond fuck boy from 1-B, too. Ouch. It really hurts in a different way than physical wounds do."

He cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck, drawling, "You know, Yuki, I quite liked you. You had energy, optimism and after the talent show, I noticed the drive to improve in you." Aisen felt his cheeks blush from shame as he dropped his gaze. "But right now-"

Jigoku's eyes were crimson pools of Hellfire as they ripped straight through Aisen's soul.

"-You're just a spineless little coward."

* * *

 **Student Name: Akane Yoshida**

 **Quirk: Burning Bubbles**

 **Akane can burp out tiny red bubbles that that burst into flames when they come into contact with solid or liquid surfaces.**

 **P.S: Akane is called 'Hot Luck' by her friends because of her innate good luck.**

* * *

 **(Arena B)**

"Hah! What, it's just the both of them now?!"

Hoshi barely dodged the swift strike aimed towards her, unleashing her Gravity Field to bring down the duo of attacking students. One of her female rivals breathed out a mini cyclone from her mouth, almost blowing the freckled girl off her feet. However, the movement allowed Reiko to swoop in at the moment and grab the other girl from behind.

"SPINNING THROW!" The blonde cried, spi rapidly on her Ankle Wheels as she picked the screaming girl off the ground and launched her into the distance.

"Tch, dammit!" The male of the duo, realising he was outnumbered, escaped as fast as he could. Reiko almost took to chase after him but was stopped in her tracks by Hoshi grabbing her wrist.

"~Shimamura-chan, he's not our opponent!~" she cried, pointing in the opposite direction. "~We must catch those golden flies before we lose out on them!~"

"Huh?! Oh yeah, you're right!" Reiko's wheels accelerated sparks on the gravel as she grabbed the much shorter girl, grinning excitedly. "Alright, hold on tight, Fujita!" As Hoshi silently screamed in panic, realising what was about to happen, the blonde zoomed forward. "We're going for a short but speedy ride!"

' _We're going to crash, we're going to crash, WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!'_ Hoshi mentally screamed, her lips flapping impossibly wide for her to speak. As Reiko zigzagged her way between the student crowd, creating a wheeled track all over the Arena, she failed to realise that an increasing amount of debris was slowly trailing after them.

' _Huh, what's that?'_ Helena stopped in the middle of creating a barrier as she caught sight of something headed her way. Being in the middle of the arena, where the remaining half of the targets hovered, she'd expected to be surrounded in the centre of threats. But as she squinted her eyes, the dark hazels widened when they realised what was exactly headed her way.

And so did the other participants.

"Damn, that dratted 1-A is up to one of their tricks again!" screamed a chubby boy in frustration.

"But we're not gonna let them win this time! Not again!" A thick-lipped girl jumped up and down with energy, tightening her bandana.

"Ehhhhhh . . . but can we really do anything against something like that . . .?" A lethargic-looking boy nervously mumbled, stepping back in fear.

"Yosh, we're gonna catch those fucking flies this time for sure!" Reiko screamed as she blitzed forward with a tearful Hoshi, speeding up even more. However, both girls were blissfully unaware of the large collection of rocks, clumped gravel, chipped cement and other debris that rushed after them. The effects of Hoshi's Gravity Field had, somehow, been heightened and she was unknowingly dragging a steadily increasing lump of wreckage after her.

"T-This is bad, Darkwood-san!" Helena swerved around, ready to throw off the intruder behind her with Soul Projection . . . before her eyes rested upon a familiarly tiny boy with a brown bowl cut. Reiji Honnouji, two round, brown ears twitching on the top of his head, nervously stuttered, "W-What do we do now?! At this rate, they'll end up destroying the targets with all that rubble!"

Helena had the beginnings of an idea form in her mind but a second figure caught the corner of her eye.

As Haruka barrelled in their direction from the other side of the arena, the raven-head's eyes twinkled. "He'll be the perfect decoy for this." Realising that they were running out of time, she quickly ordered, "Honnouji, on my mark, I want you to jump on Itou Haruka and use your Quirk."

"Eh?!" Reiji turned as white as a sheet, his half-shadowed face petrified. "Bu-bu-but that's-!"

"You want President to be proud of you, don't you?!" Helena harshly stated, annoyed at his hesitation – they had no time to waste. "If you wanna qualify, all you can do is put your faith in me and my mind! We don't have much time!" Reiji swallowed thickly but hesitantly nodded.

"I see them! Three of them!" Reiko grinned brightly, ignorant of the screams of people and the debris cyclone that trailed behind them. Hoshi's arms tightened around her neck as the blonde jumped in the air, Ankle Wheels revving noisily. And just as she was about to catch hold of a fly-

Light exploded before the two girls, a translucent golden wall stacking in front of them that pushed both away with a forced surge. Before Reiko could stumble back on her skates, Hoshi grabbed her and increased the gravity of her body, slowing down her fall enough for her to regain balance.

"What in the actual fuck?!" The blonde growled at the sudden obstruction, gaze falling on a familiar black-haired girl who was running away in the other direction. She was on the verge of chasing her but-

"Honnouji, now!"

Everything that happened after was incredibly confusing.

Hoshi and Reiko could hear angry yells erupt from behind them as the clumped debris behind them exploded in every direction, pebbles, gravel bits, cement pieces hitting everyone in the vicinity. The latter caught sight of Haruka zooming towards the targets and rushed forward, bent on not letting him outdo her. At that very moment, unexpected by both 1-A students, the mousy brunet from 1-B squealed in fright before jumping on Haruka.

"What the-?!" Before the tall boy could push him off, however, Reiji rapidly shrunk in size – within seconds, in place of the timid and tiny first year, a wide-eyed brown mouse stared up at Haruka. As both continued to blink at each other in shock for some time, Reiji whimpered . . . and disappeared under his shredded PE shirt.

"THE FUCK?!" Haruka yelled out in absolute horror, convulsing violently and losing control of his trajectory, gyrating rapidly towards the ground. Seeing her chance, Reiko skated forward at full speed but a sudden explosion of light sent her vision into white.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" She pressed her palms against the stinging burn in her eyes, blinking back hot tears as stark light overwhelmed her vision. "FUCK YOU, DARKWOOD! SHIT!" Helena, unaffected by the cursing, reached towards the targets-

Before a volley of small pebbles began attacking her, targeting her head and torso.

' _What the-?!'_ She concentrated Soul Projection into small beams on her fingertips, splicing through the pebbles as footsteps rushed towards her. But before she could go on the offensive, she felt a heavy weight drag her body down – and even though she tried, resistance was futile as she was slowly forced down on her knees.

"I-!"

Haruka lifted his face from the dirt as his metal fingers roughly grasped the squirming rodent that'd been crawling all over his lower stomach. Reiji felt his soul slipping out as icy eyes stared down at his miniscule figure.

Helena slowly rotated her wrists, quietly gazing at the determined girl who stood in front of her. Hoshi's eyes burned with the luminosity of blazing amber.

Placing a hand above her chest, she announced, "I promised Shimizu-kun that we'll make it to the next round!"

As Reiko blinked back to her normal vision, Haruka dangled Reiji by his tiny paw and threw him away into the distance.

"And I plan to-!"

Helena shot forward, Soul Projection fuelling her legs with enough strength to escape Gravity Field. She brought up her light coated fingers, planning to sap away the freckled girl's energy.

But instead of stepping back, Hoshi charged forward, curls floating up as a surge of air currents embalmed her.

 _( Ren turned back to stare her down, his smirk filled with arrogance and contempt._

" _Maybe, if you were strong, you could've protected your mother from Graviton." )_

Light and gravity crashed as a strong wave of energy blew over the arena. But even amidst the pandemonium, Hoshi found her voice.

"-Never stop moving forward again!"

* * *

 **(Arena D)**

Two fists clashed in the air, the vibrations between steel and cement sending ripples through the sound waves.

' _Everyone! The reason Ayame cannot use his Quirk on Kenshi-san's crystals is because they refract and change the direction of light!'_ Ryo ignored the thundering growl in his stomach as he hacked at the black whips with his crystal-bladed wrists; one of the tendrils managed to attach itself to his arm but he used the other blade to 'cut' through it, causing it to veer off. _'So every time one of his shadows passes through a crystal, it is forced to travel through a redirected pathway!'_

"I . . . don't need you . . . to fucking state that!" Sweat was now pouring off Ryo in rivulets as he gradually advanced towards the short boy, running on nothing but fury and hate. It was clear that the general education student was in a panic since his Shadow Bind was now making reckless attacks instead of their earlier accurate movements. Habiki was careful to follow behind Ryo, using him as a human shield – the thought made pangs of guilt flit through him.

' _Well . . . this isn't the first time I've done something like this to him, anyway.'_

"Kenshi-san . . .," Suzuran worriedly mumbled as she clasped her hands tightly, wanting to help him but also being aware that she would only get in the way. It was hard enough for Ryo to defend himself, and Habiki, from the speedy binds. Meanwhile, Kagami was concerned about something else.

"You're no better than a concrete snail now, ya know?!" Jobu, fists red hot, struck as brutally as he could at Horie's jaw. But despite a few miniscule cracks, the giant boy didn't even flinch. As he raised a cement fist to smash down on Jobu, the shorter boy easily retreated back. He lunged forward again, smashing another powerful punch against his opponent's unguarded lower stomach.

But even though Horie was too slow to be able to hit him or guard against any of his attacks, Jobu realised he was in a pinch.

' _My punches are doing_ _ **nothing**_ _to him.'_ He lazily dodged another punch from the boy, before spinning on his heel and hitting above his left hip with a painful elbow jerk. _'His speed has certainly gone down but that concrete is almost impossible to smash through, even with all of my strength and heat.'_ Knowing it was a part of Cementoss-sensei's Quirk, the canine-toothed felt both impressed and annoyed. _'That means the only choice to take him down is-'_

His eyes flicked over the back of his shoulder towards Kagami, who stood staring at the battle anxiously, hands clenched.

' _Hara-san, can I move in now?!'_ The short-haired girl internally asked, unable to continue uselessly standing while Jobu was slowly depleted of his stamina. She bit down on her lip when a calm voice knocked into her thoughts, stating, _'Not yet, Kita-san. Just wait a little more.'_ Kagami clenched her teeth before sucking in a deep breath, realising that trusting in Habiki's plan was their best bet for now. But even so . . .

Her eyes squeezed shut as Horie managed to score an uppercut on Jobu, saliva and blood spraying out of the latter's mouth.

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!"

Meanwhile, Ryo had seemingly lost all control of himself as his wrath-filled hunger spurned him into unleashing a barrage of reckless but wild attacks at Ayame, sending numerous shards of small and big crystals flying his way. The boy cussed out loud as some of the shrapnel cut into his skin but using his black tendrils, he grabbed a medium-sized block of the cement wall and used it a temporary shield, swatting away the crystals with them.

Stomping his foot down on the ground to curb the intense pain in his stomach, Ryo cried, "WHY THE FUCK WON'T YOU JUST GO DOWN ALREADY?!"

As a group of golden flies hovered over the biggest battle in the arena, Ayame broke the rubble pieces apart effortlessly with his Shadow Bind, chucking one of the pieces at Ryo. The boy managed to barely dodge the heavy slab by tossing his weight to the right but he failed to incept the smaller second piece coming towards him and it slammed straight into his forehead, blackening his vision as stars swivelled around his head.

"KENSHI-SAN!" Suzuran felt her feet move on their own as she ran towards the collapsed boy, her spider legs shaking. But before she could reach him, several black tendrils struck out of the ground and wrapped around her small figure and extra appendages, suspending her in the air.

' _SHIT!'_ Habiki cursed as he tried to hide – but it was too late as Ayame had caught sight of him and, in no time, dangled him upside down.

"WHY DON'T YOU RUN AWAY NOW, YOU OVERSMART BITCHES?!" Ryo, through the hammering pain in his temple and the sticky blood that slowly caked his right eye, could faintly make out Ayame's figure shivering as scathing laughter escaped him. "I'VE CAUGHT YOU, I'VE CAUGHT YOU, I'VE CAUGHT YOU NOW!"

A whole group of golden flies danced around the scene, feeding on its excitement.

Kagami ran towards Jobu and Horie, her hand poised to strike at the cement giant and end things in one-shot. The grey-haired boy, hearing the sound of her footsteps, turned around and cried, "KITA, DON'T-!"

And in that one moment, Horie grabbed him by both arms and smashed him into his hard chest. As the impact sent faint reverberations through Jobu's head, he felt an intense pressure gradually begin to compress him; the cement giant had his thick arms wrapped around the boy in a bear-hug and was slowly tightening them, attempting to crush him like a recycled soda can.

"D-Damn it! Ugh-OUCH!" Jobu increased the temperature of his steel to a hot sear, slowly charring away the blue jumper and white undershirt both he and Horie donned. But as the pressure of the arms around him increased, crushing his body, he couldn't help crying out.

"JOBU!" Kagami cried, stopping in her tracks, unsure and frightened.

"Don't . . . DON'T COME HERE, KITA!" he managed to hoarsely scream, kicking violently at Horie's legs and wiggling his body. But his efforts did not shift the colossal boy even by an inch.

"What happened? Not the tiniest bit of resistance from the both of you?" Ayame tilted his head as his shadow binds roughly shook the small teens in their grasp; Habiki held back his vomit, highly nauseous from all the blood rushing to his head and Suzuran whimpered, the tendrils that held her excruciatingly tight.

' _No . . . good.'_ Ryo clumped his fingers in the dirt, dizzy, starving and throbbing all over as he felt both his consciousness and strength slowly slip away from him. _'I can't move . . . I'm hungry . . . so damned hungry.'_ Ayame's victorious chortles, the irate buzzing of the golden flies, Kagami's yells . . . everything resonated so clearly in his ears.

How he wished he couldn't hear them.

The steps that approached him were playful and in no time, he felt amorphous vines viciously pull his body up on his feet, splaying his legs and feet in a spread eagle. Through his unstable vision, he saw two Ayame's smile up at him with cold eyes. "Has this 'leech-hearted, breast-sucking coward' beaten down the wild delinquent of the mighty class 1-A?"

Ryo could not answer for a tendril had wrapped itself around his neck in a chokehold.

"People like you could never understand . . .," Ayame panted out, his pupils dilating.

 _( In a blood-stained room, a motionless child stared down at the corpse of a young woman. )_

". . . what it means to have experienced pain." As his teeth clenched together, so did the hold of the bind around Ryo's neck, cutting into his skin.

' _Shit . . . am I really gonna pass out here?'_ As his eyes rolled towards the sky, speckled with black spots, he could see a whole group of targets hovering above his head. _'Unable to qualify even the first round?'_

Before his vision could fade, a voice resonated around him.

' _No, we're going to get to the next level soon.'_

Ryo's eyes widened as he felt Habiki breathlessly whisper into his ear.

"AAAAAUAUAUAUA!"

As suddenly as the cries had come, Ryo felt the binds around him loosen – Ayame had sunk to his knees, holding his shaking head between his hands. As the 1-A student used the remnants of his strength to break away from the black tendrils, his confused gaze flitted towards Habiki.

Hanging upside down, the raven-head flashed him a calm smirk.

"FUCK YOU, HARA!" Ryo screamed, dashing towards Ayame, face contorted with extreme rage. Ayame looked up with wide eyes, screaming, before his shadow vines took off the ground and flew up in defense.

"UGH!" Meanwhile, Horie had dropped Jobu to the ground from his embrace as he clutched his head, disturbed by the loud, chaotic rambling that had messed up with his consciousness. As the grey-haired boy hacked and coughed near the giant's feet, sucking in deep lunges of air, Kagami found herself standing still, awaiting instructions.

' _Now, Kita-san!'_

She broke out in a run as Habiki's voice echoed in her mind, right hand outstretched towards Horie. As the colossal teen slowly stared at her, eyes twinkling with ruthlessness, a cold sweat broke out on the girl's nape. Fear crashed upon her in a wave.

But she knew she had to keep running.

' _I have . . . only one chance!'_ She swerved to the right to dodge the slow punch aimed towards her, feeling the wind from the force push her away – but digging her heels into the ground, she forced herself forward-

Until all of her five fingers clasped around a cement arm.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Ayame rushed back, cornered, as Ryo ran towards him like a madman – every time one of his shadow tendrils tried to grab at him, he would deflect it by a quick strike of his crystal blade.

And on top of that . . .

' _ICANDONOTHINGNOWTHERE'SNOTHINGICANDOHORIE'SGONESEKAI'SGONEEVERYONE'SGONEI'MGONNALOSEGONNALOSEGONNALOSEGONNALOSE-'_

"STOP IT! STOP INVADING MY MIND!" He cried, crushing his temples beneath his palms as his Shadow Bind faltered, mind too disturbed to properly use them. A cold voice repeated bad thoughts over and over, eking through the very corners of his brain, inducing images he did not want to see.

 _( "Mother?"_

 _The small palm pressed itself against cold skin. )_

Screaming as hot tears rolled down his cheeks, Ayame felt a small pebble roll beneath his feet and attack his balance. He tried to grasp at support, his beret dropping to the ground as he fell backwards but a firm fist grabbed hold of his collar.

"Looks like I'm the one keeping you in the air now, you little fucker."

Bleary eyes opened to see an enraged figure with murder on his face.

Ryo, teeth clenched and eyebrows furrowed to create deep valleys, burst into a large grin. He raised a fist, muscles popping against pale skin and dark veins outlined. "You had me for a good fight, kid, I'll give you that. That was some impressive Quirk usage and battle technique. You even had," the taller boy easily deflected one last feeble whip from a black tendril, "me want to give up at one point."

And then, the smile dropped into a scowl. "But because of you, I had to-"

Habiki and Suzuran, now finally free from the shadow's grasp, rushed towards their classmate. "Kenshi-san, we don't have much time! We still haven't caught our intended targets yet!"

"-take the help of the person I hate the most in this entire shitverse." His fists tightened around Ayame's collar and the boy whimpered, knees shaking. Voice growing quieter, Ryo muttered, "I could've considered to let you off the hook, kid. But because you forced me to take _his_ help, I can't _forgive_ you."

"Jobu, are you okay?!" Kagami helped the bruised boy to his feet, wincing but refusing to let go of his hot skin. Horie struggled violently against the metallic chains that bound him, moving the very ground underneath, but to no avail.

"Kenshi-san!"

"Sleep tight, asshole."

When the punch slacked against his jaw, all Ayame felt was a shattering pain before black lights overcame his senses, dimming his consciousness into the abyss of oblivion.

 _( As they looked at the colourful sunset together, painted with strokes of burgundy and vermillion, Ryo felt the happiest he ever had. The one year he'd lived in the nightmarish shit-hole called juvy seemed to be worth everything he was feeling now. A smile blossomed across his face as he stretched his legs out on the warm grass below, his large, rough hand settling over the small, soft one of his companion._

 _As soon as their skins touched, the girl beside him flinched and turned towards him, tender grey eyes wide. He did not like the look of horror on her face but he couldn't keep his feelings to himself anymore. Even if she couldn't accept him or reciprocate, he needed to convey them to her._

" _Hara . . . chan," he whispered hoarsely, leaning towards her. She opened her pale lips to speak but his next words had snatched the voice from her throat._

" _I love you." )_

' _. . . I'll never forgive you, Hara.'_

"Kenshi-san!" He could hear the abhorrent voice run towards him as he fell forward, all his strength finally ebbing away. The gravel was rough and his stomach rumbled violently as the acids within ate away at the organ's inner walls. "Kenshi-san!" Figures bent down towards him and a small, unfamiliar palm clasped around his own.

But Ryo had passed out.

* * *

 **ED 3 – Itsuka Kono Namidaga**

* * *

 **Pinky: Mou, my speed has gone down so much! I wonder why?!**

 **Haruka: *stares at all the assignments and test dates piled up on the corner* Yeah, me too.**

 **Pinky: Ah, don't be like that, Haru-kun! Show me some motivation!**

 **Haruka: . . . I'm not Haru-kun. And I'm not really the right person you should ask for motivation.**

 **Pinky: Fine! I'll just ask Fu-kun then!**

 **Haruka: . . . On another note, you'll have better luck with me.**


	30. Ch 29 - Pushing Through

**OP 3 – Anomie by Amazarashi**

 **Chapter 29 – Pushing Through**

 **(Outside Arena)**

"YOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH! THE FIRST BATTLE OF THIS YEAR'S UA SPORTS FESTIVAL SEEMS TO HAVE REACHED ITS LAST QUARTERS!"

Battle Fist stood on a large concrete podium, an excellent choice as an anchor for the country-wide event due to her immense popularity among the masses. With her cheerful but unobtrusive personality, well-spaced and intelligent comments and constant inclusion amidst the Top-15 Hero rankings, there was no question as to why Itsuka had slowly started becoming famous as a host for important Hero-society events. "Out of the thirty-two targets that had been released, twenty-three have been caught! Only nine more spots left to qualify to the next round!"

As the crowd thundered and roared with wild excitement, cheering for the battling teens, Suzuran worriedly stared after Ryo as he was pushed away on a stretcher by the medical staff. Biting down on her quivering lip, she was startled as a gentle hand patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Habiki's eyes were kind as they smiled at her. His gaze flickered towards the figure of his unconscious classmate as he disappeared inside the attached building. "All he needs is a bit of rest and a lot of food."

Suzuran smiled shyly at him, nodding. She raised her right palm and stared intently at it, face growing increasingly hot. _'I . . .,'_ her fingers twitched, littered with small nicks and cuts, _'I actually . . .'_

She thought about how she'd unthinkingly reached for his palm as he'd lost consciousness, squeezing his rough palm between her shaking fingers. Back then, she'd been desperate to reach out to him, to keep him from blacking out. But now that she thought carefully about it . . .

' _WHY DID I EVEN DO THAT?!'_ The spider girl blew up like a cherry bomb, embarrassed heat radiating off her in waves. _'W-What if . . . what if Kenshi-san realises I held his hand and begins avoiding me, thinking I'm a creepy stalker?!'_

Habiki sweat-dropped as he stared at the flustered and shaking girl, immediately switching off his Mind Break as it began probing amidst the dense emotions wallowing in Suzuran's mind. _'Well, I knew she had a crush on him but to think it ran_ _ **this**_ _deep . . .'_

 _( "Hara . . . chan. I love you." )_

He shook his head, smile embittering as past memories surfaced, reminding him of the problematic history he shared with Kenshi Ryo. Even as two years had rushed by, Habiki had never stopped feeling the guilt of the misunderstanding he'd caused – maybe, if he didn't know just how deeply he'd hurt him, he would've been able to forget things. But Mind Break would never allow him to do so.

' _If someday . . . I can make up for what I did to him . . .'_

"~Asa . . . Asagumo-san!"

Hoshi came jogging into the qualifiers' pavilion, PE uniform torn and dirty in several places but Suzuran was relieved to see there were no major injuries on her. However, before Suzuran could hug her, the blue-haired girl tripped and faltered to the ground.

"Fuji-!" The pinkette's scream died in her throat as a familiar figure gently grabbed her, straightening her up on her unsteady feet.

"Ummmm," Hoshi's sight was still a little hazy after her short battle with Helena but she recognised the tall blond who was staring down at her. "~Ah, you're from 1-B, right?! Thank you so much for saving me~!" She beamed at him, earning a chuckle from the boy.

"It's Unagi Ryota, Fujita-san," he smirked. _'Well, now that I look at her up close . . .'_ Russet eyes roved over soft cerulean curls, dirt-stained flaxen skin and a sweet, childlike face. _'. . . She's_ _ **really**_ _cute.'_ But before Ryota could continue speaking, a bespectacled figure coldly crossed over from beside him, standing in front of Hoshi.

"I'm so glad you're fine, Fujita-san!" Akaname let go of the irritation he'd felt at the questionable smile on Ryota's face, relief and pride washing over him in waves. "Although," he looked around for another figure, heart slowing down at the possible worse-case scenario, "Did Shimamura-san not . . .?"

Hoshi tilted her head at the incomplete question before realising what he meant. "~Don't worry, don't worry, Shimizu-kun!~" She pointed a thumb towards two figures who were slowly climbing up the wooden stairs to the pavilion. "~Shimamura-chan is coming along with Itou-kun!~"

Indeed, Reiko was traversing the stairs at a slow pace, snapping off the ears of a half-shirtless Haruka. "There's something called morality that exists, you know?!" Without her Ankle Wheels, the blonde was back to her original size of 5'1' and seemed very incensed about something. "You can't just fucking steal other's people's targets, Itou! That's not how justice works! And you're supposed to be just because you're in the fucking Hero course!"

Haruka, half his body in throbbing pain and mind about to explode from the amount of times he'd told the blonde idiot that he _hadn't_ been stealing her targets, decided to remain quiet. But taking his silence as an affirmative, Reiko continued, "Hah! Nothing left to say now that you've been caught red-handed, have you?! I knew it, I KNEW you had an eye on our fucking targets! Don't worry, I'm gonna pay you back in full when the next round starts, just you fucking wait!"

' _God, what have I done to you?'_ He sighed out loud, trudging over to the empty seats in the corner. He just wanted a five minute nap. But-

"At least reply, you kuudere bastard!"

Akaname felt terribly sorry for Haruka but his attention was caught by Hoshi's question. "~Whaaaaaatttt?! Asu-chan hasn't arrived yet?!" Suzuran nodded sadly at the freckled girl's wide eyes. After all, most of them had had no doubt that Asuna would be one of the first people to qualify.

"~Ehehehehe, that may have had something to do with me, actually.~" Mashiro rubbed his head as he edged into the conversation, not looking the least bit affected. "~Asu-chi was so busy in combat that she didn't notice me running away with her target, huhuhu!~"

"Damn, you're horrible, ain't ya, Madou-kun?" Koji sniggered as he joined the quartet. "But that was pretty clever of you, I'll admit! God, what would I not have given to see Asuna's face at that moment!"

"~Hehe, I agree that she looked pretty hilarious, Koji-chi! Like a puffer fish about to blow up from anger!~" As Koji and Mashiro sniggered together, the surrounding students backed away, peeved by the disturbing aura radiating off them.

"Hah . . . abandoning your own classmates, huh? What admirable unity you have, dear 1-A!"

The pompous baritone was followed by boisterous footsteps and the swishing of cloth; Akaname's lips stretched into a thin scowl under his mask as Hayate Ohtsuka stepped into view, sunlight glinting off his Aviators. As Hoshi, Koji and Mashiro stared at his shiny bald head, he walked right towards his fellow class President and offered a hand. "Hearty congratulations on clearing the 1st round, Shimizu-san! From the bottom of my heart, I am happy for you and your fellow students!"

Akaname's hand was stiffly polite as it grabbed Hayate's. "And it is the same for you, Ohtsuka-san. Congratulations to you and the rest of the 1-B qualifiers too." But as his eyes roamed around and counted, he realised that less than half of the 1-B students were present.

"Woah, Ohtsuka-san, where's the rest of your class?!" And Koji, as always, _had_ to barge in with his utter tactlessness. Ignoring the popping vein on Hayate's temple, the green-haired boy made an exaggerated show of looking around the mostly filled seats. "Hmmmmm, the horny couple, chibi brunet, Yuki's kuudere girlfriend, Mr. Fuckboy, chubby loli, your average Joe and . . . the chuuni President . . . that's it?!"

"H-Hey, don't look down on the President like that!" Reiji, in his role of the faithful vice-president, immediately came to the boiling Hayate's rescue. Fisting his tiny hands, he shook them at an amused Koji. "I-I'm sure the remaining nine spots will be taken by 1-B!" Hayate crossed his arms and smirked, nodding in support of the sentence.

"That's extremely unlikely." Reiji squealed with fright at Haruka's sudden appearance, immediately retreating behind Hayate – the feeling of being flicked in the air like a ragdoll had been singularly unpleasant.

"Hoh, that's a lot of confidence there." Ryota stepped in between his classmates and the tall neon-eyed boy – he may have found Hayate and Reiji annoying but he wasn't going to let someone from the rival class intimidate them. Going chest-to-chest, the blond quirked an eyebrow. "But if you think our class will be so easily beaten, you should knock your stool down by some pegs."

Suzuran panicked, her senses tingling at the obvious tension in the air – the ferocity exuded by both boys was thickly palpable and it seemed like they would start punching each other any moment.

"~Itou-kun, calm down, calm down!~" Hoshi was trying to pull on the boy's arm but she couldn't move him by even an inch.

"Unagi, you're scaring Akane! Sit down!" Akane tried to push the boy away but he stood rigid in his spot, refusing to back off.

"Everyone, please calm down! This is neither the time nor the place to fight!"

The speaker was a pretty, rather dainty-looking girl who, even with her soft voice, managed to grab both Haruka and Ryota's attentions. No one had ever seen her before . . . except Koji.

Letting her frown ease into a smile, 1st year General Course Awase Sui felt herself relax at the somewhat diffused situation. "I apologise for interrupting but I think instead of pitting ourselves against each other, we should be more focused on observing our friends' battles and cheering them on!"

Kazumi, who had silently listened to everything that had occurred, bristled at the unfamiliar girl's words. But before she could make a contemptuous remark, Koji butted in. "Alright, alright, children, let's settle down now, yeah?" He clapped his hands, the friendly smile on his face immediately morphing into a mischievous sneer. "Otherwise, this jester might have to crack a good joke to lighten up all of you~."

Horrible memories from the talent show crashed upon Haruka and he pulled away from Hoshi's grip. Ryota, satisfied his opponent had backed off first, finally allowed himself to be pushed away by Akane.

As everyone finally settled on their seats, Koji turned around to face the unknown girl, curiosity slightly piqued by her boldness. "Thank you for helping out, Aizawa-san." The smile on her face was mismatched against the dark shadows under her eyes. "And . . . I'm sorry if I weirded you out in the arena." She sheepishly stuck out a tongue, looking faintly embarrassed. "The intensity of the battles had me on slight edge."

Koji wanted to ask how she knew his name; but then the realisation that he was the child of two popular Pro Heroes hit him. "Ah, no worries, no worries! Tense atmospheres aren't my forte anyway!" Tilting his head, black eyes gleamed as they gazed at her. "I must say, that was quite a clever way to use your Quirk back there." _'And the first time my Gutbuster had been diffused by a peer.'_ But he did not state his final thoughts aloud.

Slightly flushing at his statement, she put forward an elegant, inexperienced hand. "I'm Awase Sui, a 1st year from general education."

Koji gazed at the white, slender fingers before grinning and grasping them warmly. "What a cute name."

 **(Arena C)**

' _. . . What is it . . . that makes someone strong?'_

He was aware of the relentless attacks pelting at them, watching from the corner of his eye – Inori had taken to the air, attacking with her steel wings and big claws, Kasai and Yasu holding down the ground fort as they made close and long range attacks towards their pursuers.

Kenio could feel his heart beat rapidly beneath his chest, pumping too much blood, too much oxygen but they couldn't slow the swift movements of his fingers.

' _It's no good, I don't have time to think of such things right now . . .'_

"Nakamura-san! Are you done?!" Kasai wiped off the river of perspiration trailing down the side of his face, his mask soaked with heat and sweat. Yasu could now taste his own sickening blood pool at the base of his mouth, sending bubbles of acidic gas up his windpipe.

"Just . . . a bit more!" The final finishing touches, meant to give a strong overall to his creation. Inori picked up a straggler out of the way, keeping him occupied as she tossed him in the air.

"I WON'T LET YOU, FRECKLES!"

A feminine figure shadowed him, slipping past the other three as they were distracted by other students. Yasu tried to rush to Kenio's aid but he was blocked by a muscular guy who tried to jab him in the shoulder, the ash blond barely moving away in time.

As sharp nails wrapped around him, Kenio felt an intense anger ignite.

 _( "As long as I had hit it even a little . . . why does it matter how hurt I got?" )_

"KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF!"

The girl did not even see the funny-looking knuckle move towards her and hit her square below her chest, shocks of excruciating pain speeding through every nerve in her body as her vision blanked out. One cough of thick blood and she lay flat on the floor, limbs sprawled numbly.

Kenio stared at her with rage, disregarding the teammates who rushed to her. Instead, he gripped his creation in his hands and strode towards the masked duo, teeth clenched tight.

"Nakamura-san-" Kasai's words were cut short as the gadget was handed over to him wordlessly, the freckled boy glaring at the ground. But as Inori approached them, he took it from his grip, deciding to talk to him later.

"The plan is still in motion, right?" the raven-head asked, feet not touching the ground as the severe awkwardness of the moment flew over her head.

Kasai found himself hard-pressed for speech but thankfully, Yasu replied, "Yep. With Nakamura-san's capture gadget, it should be easy for _all_ of us to capture the flies accordingly." He looked around, noting that most of the competition had been knocked out. The ones left were staring at the quartet with expressions of rage, sadness and fear.

"Then let's go." She hoisted everyone up without much effort, eyeing the buzzing golden insects. With Kenio's fly catcher, that was completely fitted with polarised magnets, a harness and a metallic capture basket, it would take no time for them to finally complete the dragged on first round.

Kasai blushed underneath his mask as he wrapped his arms around Inori's neck, trying not to get too close to the scent of her hair. As Yasu and Kenio clung to her, on either side of him, he mumbled, "I-It's not too uncomfortable for you, I hope, Tetsuya-san?"

She stared at him for a few seconds before launching off the ground, wings flapping heftily as they soared higher. "Don't worry. You guys are medium-weight."

But even Kasai's hesitant chuckle and Yasu's barely coherent pun did not get through Kenio's ears. His optimism and enthusiasm were slowly fading away, leaving a bitter anger simmering in his chest.

' _What is . . . wrong with me?'_

 **. . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

 **Student Name: Ayame Onieda**

 **Quirk: Shadow Bind**

 **Ayame's Quirk allows him to manipulate his shadow in the forms of black tendrils that shoot up from the ground or from any physical surface close to him. These shadows, although intangible, can make physical contact with other objects and despite their appearance, have high speed and strength abilities. Although Ayame cannot use them up to unlimited distances, they can cover a large area without him having to move.**

 **P.S: Ayame seems to have an uncanny hatred for Heroes and anything related to them.**

 **. . . . . . . . . . . . . .**

 **(Arena A)**

Even if he was the David against her Goliath, he _had_ to win.

' _Huh, another reckless plan . . . looks like some of the other guys are rubbing off on me.'_ Jigoku ran through the crowd with utmost speed, two sharply-edged cards poised and ready between his fingers. The arena was littered with all forms of plant debris, broken branches scattered over the ground, ripped vines and torn leaves dotting the spaces of gravel between. Asuna, one of her twintails undone, screamed like a feral beast as giant trunks and sharply-thorned climbers exploded all around her, wiping out anyone who tried to approach.

Suddenly, tiny thorns exploded from one of the brunette's plants, flinging out at great speeds as they hit everyone around them. Jigoku swerved to the side, trying to avoid them, but a few managed to hit and embed into his skin.

"Fuck!" He skidded to a stop, trying to blink back the pained tears – every twitch of muscle spasmed a sharp stab through his nerves, dozens of tiny needles pierced through his skin and clothes. Clenching his teeth, Jigoku tried to run forward but his steps were awkward and a dizzying haze was coursing through him.

' _Why . . . does my head . . .,'_ He could barely stop himself from falling, stomping down his left foot to keep his body still. Translucent circles danced before his eyes but, behind them, he could see a few students fall to the floor, their limbs ceasing to move.

And then it hit him.

' _She can do that too?!'_ As quickly as he could, Jigoku began pulling each and every tiny pincer, carefully eyeing the expanse of skin they'd penetrated through. Although there was no physical mark, he was willing to barter his soul that Asuna's needles had something to do with the sudden migraine he was receiving.

' _Not only can she create giant tree trunks, long whip-like vines and leaves that cut through flesh . . . but now this too?'_ His fingers were dexterous and quick, long-honed through years of tricky training and within a couple of minutes, he was more or less done. As he stood up on his feet, he roughly shook his head, narrowing crimson eyes to make them stop going out of focus. ". . . That's fucking overpowered, Nishiya."

"I'll that as a compliment, Tejina-san."

He hadn't realised when she'd arrived so close but Jigoku was experienced in thinking on his feet. Two sharp-edged cards soared towards Asuna but without moving a finger, one of her vine whips flashed out and ripped the cards into several shreds, letting the pieces pitifully flicker to the gravel. Jigoku grinned, not with amusement but with anxiety, and smirked, ". . . Well, at least it was worth a try."

Poker-faced, the brunette mumbled, "I don't think so," and several of her vines shot out towards her horned classmate. But before they could reach halfway towards him, a spark flickered to life and electricity crackled through the whips, grazing Asuna and sending her body into a weak shock.

' _Looks like my electric chip bought some time!'_ Jigoku turned around and broke into a run, reaching for the chips in his utility pack and pulling out two more cards from his forearms. As he'd expected, the static died down within a few seconds but it'd clearly disorientated the brunette as she swayed unsteadily on her feet. He circled Asuna, staying at a considerable distance to avoid her long range Gardening attacks, but knew he had to move in sooner or later to capture the golden insects that hovered over her.

' _If only I'd had Yuki on my team . . .'_

She could still feel her head and body buzzing uncomfortably, like a thousand bees had been set free inside her, but her rage was far greater than the shock of having been electrocuted. Tejina Jigoku may have been a crafty combatant well-versed in his shadow tricks – but when it came to long drawn battles, the power and versatility of her Gardening was sure to triumph.

"TEJINA!" Two giant trunks dangled forward from behind her, moving towards the boy at intense speed. But Jigoku, prepared for the specific attack, chucked two cards towards the trunks and on contact, a thick spate of smoke filled the atmosphere.

"IT DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER!" A plethora of vines, sharp leaves and poisoned needles shot out towards the smoke, flailing blindly for the boy that seemed to have completely disappeared within its camouflage. However, they seemed to get hold of nothing, and the intensity and area of the grey clouds grew, soon reaching towards and embalming her within its shade as well.

"WHERE ARE YOU, YOU DAMNED DEVIL?!" She further increased the size of the trunks and the length of the whips, violently wiping away the blood that seeped through her nose and the side of her mouth. Exhaustion had been weighing on her since a long time but now, it was truly starting to overwhelm Asuna and push her underwater, threatening to tear her apart with the intense pressure it placed.

She cussed and realised it was a mistake when a sharp piece of paper grazed her right cheek, leaving a bleeding cut behind. Frozen still for a moment, rage and pride simmered to their boiling point and she rushed forward, screaming and wildly shaking her fists.

' _Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!'_ Jigoku, vision goggles fitted over his eyes, turned around to dash away – but vines wrapped around his ankles and waist, contracting powerfully to bruise his muscles. He tried to pull out his cards but two additional vines strung around his wrists and painfully pulled them away from his body, stretching them to the sides.

"Damn you, Tejina . . .," As the smoke slowly began clearing up, Jigoku was lifted off the ground; Asuna, blood running down her nose and dripping down the front of her PE shirt, stared at him with maddened eyes. "Taking me for a fucking chase . . . you goddamn smug playboy . . ."

It was no use pulling or trying to set his limbs free as vines tightened with every movement. Jigoku hung suspended in the air, limbs stretched above his torso, feeling the blood slowly numb away from his ankles and wrists. But what worried him the most was the utter derangement on Asuna's face and the continuous outpour of blood down her nose. She may have been powerful but it was obvious, like any other person, she had her limits.

The trio of golden flies buzzed right before him, enamoured by the scene.

"Nishiya, liste-UGH!" He cried in pain as the vines stretched him again – any more and his limbs would surely break off. "We can settle this, Nishiya! There's more than enough for the both of us!"

 _( ". . . I don't want a weak person in my life." )_

"You're wrong, Tejina."

Asuna's lower lip quivered, blood caking it in two thin streams. But even amidst the rapid beating of her heart and the distant cheers, she could hear the hurriedly approaching footsteps.

". . . There's never enough for anyone."

"LET HIM GO!" A great flurry of golden flames razed through the area, smouldering through the vast trunks and the remnants of the other plant life. Wordlessly, Asuna dropped Jigoku on the ground and shot a spate of poison needles in the direction of the flames; however, before they could pierce his skin, the flames that covered Aisen's body charred them in no time.

"Yuki . . .?" Shocked, Jigoku lifted himself up on his elbows.

"You've become insane, Nishiya!" Aisen did not flinch at the cold, vapid gaze in her magenta eyes – right now, he had to be brave enough to face her. Even if the courage was temporary, he needed to snap her out of her stupor. "Just look at the destruction around you! Is this really necessary?!"

' _. . . Shut up.'_

Aisen fell back, slinking to the ground as thorny vines made hurried grabs for him; bringing up a wall of fire with his left arm, he burnt away the razor leaves aimed towards him and Jigoku. As the flames covering him lit up even fiercer, he grinned, "Looks like you're not going to listen to words, are you, Asuna-chan?!"

' _. . . SHUT THE FUCK UP.'_

With a face twisted in deranged fury, she jumped off the ground, a plethora of trunks, vines and leaves exploding from beneath and behind her. Aisen felt his knees weaken but-

"Yuki-san, don't give up!" Jigoku's voice rang out from behind.

' _Even I know-'_

"-THAT I CAN'T GIVE UP NOW!" Aisen shot forward, golden flames swirling around him and lapping at everything in vicinity. They burned away the attacking vegetation, reducing the green to cinders; using his buffed speed, he dodged the duo of giant logs heaved at him, sprinting around the arena on his adrenaline buzz. Asuna violently rubbed off the blood dripping down her nose as she pulled out dry leaves and twigs from her fanny pack – with a swirling head, she sharpened, multiplied and enlarged them as they entwined to form a giant mass.

"What the fuck is she doing now . . . ?" Jigoku murmured, sneaking through the all-out battle in order to get closer to the targets.

Aisen stared wide-eyed as a large structure began taking place behind the brunette, something that seemed to be out of the high-fantasy video games he played. Leaves and vines wrapped and twined around a thick, beastly trunk as roots began spreading out from underneath Asuna, who was bleeding rapidly from her eyes and mouth. The blond felt his hyped energy fade off, giving place to cold fear – but determined not to lose himself again, he shook his head and boosted his flames.

"STOP, NISHIYA!" He knew words would be of no effect but he had to try. "YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED!"

"I'M NOT A WEAKLING LIKE YOU!" Blood and spittle dribbled out her lips as the unstable, wobbling mass of plant behind her burst open, needles, climbers, leaves and branches shooting everywhere. However, that did not stop Aisen from running towards her, leaving crackling flames behind with each footstep. "I AM STRONG! STRONGER THAN ANYONE HERE!"

But beneath her screams, her heart echoed.

 _( "AAH!"_

 _She fell face-first into the gravel, knees and arms covered in bleeding scratches. But as she lay down, able but unwilling to move, what burned more than the wounds was the humiliation of her first defeat._

" _RYUKYU-SENSEI! NORI-CHAN JUST BEAT UP ASUNA-CHAN!"_

 _She could hear Koji and the other children scream in the background and her cheeks burned even hotter. But as Asuna slowly tried to raise herself on her bruised elbows, her bleary eyes could barely make out the visage of Inori standing triumphant before her._

 _A scaled black arm, tipped with growing red nails, still pointed towards her. Threatening and dangerous, much more than the eight-year old it belonged to._

" _Give it up, Asuna." Inori's voice was thick and, for some reason, wobblier than it should've been. "You're weak, too weak to be with me. You're too weak to even run behind me."_

' _ **SHUT UP!'**_ _She wanted to scream out loud and clog her mouth with leaves. But that wouldn't change the bitter truth shoved in her face._

 _She_ _ **was**_ _weak. )_

' _. . . But that was years ago.'_

"CALM DOWN, NISHIYA!"

The burnished blaze was upon her, intense heat caving from all sides as it tried to eat away her plants. Her mind droned with light-headedness but she continued using Gardening to attack, her scorched flora pulsating to protect and assault. Aisen dodged the grabbing vines with swift turns, blitzed by the trunks and seared the bladed leaves to ashes. But despite his advantage, he couldn't get much closer due to the large, hideous foliage she'd created between them.

"Yuki, move!"

' _FUCK! I FORGOT ABOUT TEJINA!'_ But Aisen wouldn't let her move towards Jigoku as he blocked her path, wincing as the vines slapped his body. Asuna watched as things seemed to slow down around her; the remaining trio of flies tried to scoot away but two well-aimed cards zipped to them at precise speed, sticking to them like Velcro. She watched, motionless, as the targets were pulled down; Jigoku bursting into a grin as he tugged down on the attached wires and Aisen hurrying away from her, having completed his job as the distraction.

Asuna's blood-rimmed eyes went wide with realisation.

' _What . . . am I doing . . . ?'_

As Aisen wrapped his dirt-caked fingers around his captured target, he could hear Jigoku yell with joy over the drumbeat of his pounding heart. Shine Burning faded away from his skin, hair settling down and the golden blaze in his eyes receding to their usual lavender. The robotic insect had completely stilled and now lay motionless in his palm, a blatant symbol of his victory.

' _I . . . did it.'_ Aisen's quaking lips tore into a behemoth grin as his eyes welled up, wet and hot. _'I . . . did it. I did it. I DID IT. I DID IT!_ _ **I DID IT**_ _!'_

"So you came through after all, huh, Yuki-kun?!" Jigoku wrapped an arm around the much shorter boy, his usual smug smirk having morphed into a boyish beam. The blond laughed cheerfully, happy tears streaking down his face which he quickly wiped away, leaving behind dirt smears on his cheeks.

Something green snapped past the boys and flew towards the air, causing the breakout of a cold chill on their necks. As they gathered the courage to look, a green vine receded down from the sky, a still fly trapped in its grip.

Asuna wiped away the bloodstains on her red-smeared face, a figure of horror amidst the ravages of cindered and destroyed vegetation. Her eyes refused to look away from the nervous boys even as she picked up the target and limply suspended it in the air, thumb and forefinger pinching the plastic wings.

"You . . . really put me through a lot, didn't you, little guy?" Magenta eyes vapidly gazed at the artificial construct, even as a single doorway erupted into a corner of the arena walls. The gate that was their qualification for the next round; that would finally lead them outside the brutal arena.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"AND NOW, THE FINAL THREE TARGETS HAVE BEEN CAPTURED!"

Battle Fist's voice seemed to drown amidst the roaring cheers and screams of the crowd as they hollered for the thirty-two qualifiers. The hovering cameras zoomed in on their bruised and grimy visages, displaying them on the wide screens fitted around the stadium. The faces of the deserving freshmen who had carved themselves as the best of the lot and would now duke it out in an even tighter competition.

Itsuka, pumped up with energy and ever-ready to invigorate the crowd, enlarged her fist and swung it into the air. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE FIRST ROUND OF THE MUCH AWAITED UA SPORTS FESTIVAL IS NOW OVER!" Their excited screams and applauds widened the grin on her face, undiminished by the rushing medics who were working in the background on quickly healing the more serious wounds of some of the students.

The orange-haired Hero made sure to give her brightest look to the media cameras as she announced, "And after a short interval, we'll be ready to move on to the next round!"

"UA'S HERCULEAN RELAY RACE!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 11:07 a.m. – Shiketsu High)**

"Awwwww! Is the first trial already over?"

A darkened room, illuminated only by the bright lights from a large, flashing TV screen. Red velvet curtains hung draped over mosaic windows, richly painted walls were decorated with fine engravings and in the centre of the room sat a hefty conference table carved out of visibly expensive wood. Ensembles of various other luxury items were dotted over the place, intensifying its posh appearance.

"Of course, Suzune-chan! Now that the boring part is done with, we can move on to the interesting stuff!"

"U-Umm," a visibly ragged girl peeked through the large double doors to the room, hiding half her face behind thick, dark locks. "A-Are you all going to be seated here for the entirety of the program . . .?"

Five pairs of eyes shot over to her and she flinched, inching back. But before she could stutter a reply, a male figure stood up from the plush office chair that sat at the head of the table. "That's fine, isn't it, President Hwasa?" The tall 3rd year clutched the door edge with trembling fingers as the slim boy walked towards her. "After all, we fulfilled the conditions set by you for this facility."

"You're scaring her, Hiro-kun.~" Chimed a female who sat on the table, swinging her legs back and forth. Smirking at a figure near her, she purred, "Isn't that right, Alis-kun?"

"I told you not to purr my name like that, Suzune," the boy mumbled, hunched over a gaming console his fingers danced upon. "It gives people the wrong idea."

Daiki Hiro pointedly ignored his classmates' annoying banter, eyeing the Shiketsu President with contemptuous eyes. "There is no problem anymore, is there?" Hwasa's eyes widened and she half-opened her mouth to speak; but one look from two of the teens in the room and she nervously bowed before pattering away, shutting the door behind her.

"Wooooooohhhh, you sure are scary, Daiki!" The platinum blond turned around to shoot a simpering gaze at (Makoto) who jumped down from his position on the table, wide grin all sunshine and humour. "Can't believe I thought you were some dainty pretty-boy when I first met you during the entrance exam!"

"Well, you weren't wrong about the pretty part, Yorokobi-san," Hiro calmly replied before walking to his chair and collapsing in its comfort. As he picked up the warm teacup he'd been drinking from, he silently gazed at the black TV screen, eyes fixed on the countdown numbers. Twenty six minutes to go before Round 2 of the UA Sports Festival aired.

"Ne, Chuya-chan!" The energetic (Makoto) turned to the shorter female in the room, who quietly looked up as he leaned over her. "A penny for your thoughts?! What'd you think about the UA 1st years?"

Smiling softly at him, the teal-haired teen replied, "They are as strong as I was told. And some of them are incredibly frightening in battle."

As his heart hammered, Makoto placed both his arms on the desk and leaned closer to the girl. "You're so cute, Chuya-chan!" She flustered a deep pink as he flashed his pearly whites at her. "Marry me!"

Before the boy could fully invade Chuya's privacy, Suzune grabbed a dictionary and slammed it lightly into the back of his head. "Stop it, Makoto-kun," she distastefully shook her head, ignoring his pained grumbling. "Chuya-chan already has . . . what was his name? Habiki . . . Hara-kun, right?" At the snow-haired girl's simpering smirk, Chuya moved her bashful gaze to the floor.

"For a boy with a non-combative Quirk, he pulled off a skilled fight." Hiro took another sip of his tea, eyes rolling towards the ceiling as various thoughts barraged his mind. "If he hadn't been a part of their group, I'm sure those four 1-A students wouldn't have been able to qualify for the next round."

"Yeah, yeah, curly-haired chibi is great and all," Makoto drawled before lunging forward, slamming his palms on the teak table, "But! Did you see my boy, Kasai, use that magnificent flame thrower?!" His eyes sparkled as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head. "Damn, I'm so proud of my little introvert! He seems to have gotten over his pyrophobia to a great degree!" As he wiped fake tears from his cheeks, Suzune giggled at his antics, crossing her legs.

"Hitori Kasai-kun is surely a cutie." Her eyes fell on the blond playing video games, noting the way his mouth had thinned into a straight line. "You don't have anything to say, Alis-kun?" The boy shot her a withering glare, ineffective against her curious smirk. Cupping her face in fists, Suzune bent over him. "After all, your twin brother qualified too.~"

 _( "JACK!"_

 _Dark, frozen spikes shot out of him, icy manifestations of his anger. And before he could take control of them-_

 _Aisen fell to the ground, bleeding. )_

Yuki Alistair inhaled a deep breath before standing up, almost slamming his forehead against Suzune's. "No comment," he mumbled, walking to the corner of the large room to pour a cup of tea. Not like he really needed it but it would help to avoid her invasive stare for some time. Amused at his reaction, the girl straightened her posture, twirling the black Shiketsu cap that sat atop her short, fluffy twintails.

Hiro shook his head at his cousin's activities but was interrupted by a quiet question from Chuya. "Daiki-san," he eyed the only other sane member of the group. "Tetsuya Inori-san is your and Suzune-san's former teammate, right? From team TENSHI?"

Suzune flinched at the mention of the group's name but Hiro kept his calm, sombrely smiling as he nodded. "That is so. Why do you ask?"

Chuya folded her fingers on the table, carefully measuring her words before returning his smile with a graceful one of her own. "I was quite amazed at how powerful she seems but it's not surprising since she's from the same team as both of you."

"Yeah! Strongest middle-schoolers of the country and all that jazz, huh?!" Makoto grinned, completely oblivious to the increasingly uncomfortable look on Suzune's face. "That's a fab title if I ever heard of one!" As Alistair returned to his seat, holding a piping hot cup, he didn't fail to notice the deep furrow in his dark-skinned classmate's eyebrows.

Hiro, however, looked completely calm – in fact, a pleasant smile stretched across his pale lips. "Looks like all of us have someone we're close to in UA, don't we?" Makoto nodded vigorously at the statement, Alistair's knuckles tightened around his game switch and Chuya smiled shyly, averting her gaze.

Suzune, loosening her shirt collar, glanced at Hiro from the corners of her eye. _'That look again . . . he can't forget what happened, can he . . .?'_

Pressing his fingertips against the commercials on the TV, Hiro traced lines over the quickly receding countdown numbers. "Then I hope," he muttered softly, lavender eyes glowing, "They won't disappoint us in the next match."

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **ED 3 – Itsuka Kono Namidaga by Little Glee Monster**

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 **You guys . . . are still here? *brushes cobwebs away* Welcome back.**

 **Anyway, things have happened and I don't want to bore anyone with it but a thank you and headpat to those who were still waiting for this to return! I'm not out of fuel yet, don't worry, guys! Although *psychotic laughter* I might have become a bit unhinged because of it . . .**


	31. Ch 30 - A Herculean Race Course!

**OP 3 – Anomie by Amazarashi**

* * *

 **Chapter 30 – A Herculean Race Course!**

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 9:36 a.m. - ?)**

"Wake up, sleeping beauty. Breakfast has been served."

Her eye shot open at the feeling of fingers on her shoulder and the lilting, friendly voice that lingered too close to her ear. She jerked up, ready to pounce, but as bed sheets pooled around her, the events of last night dawned. Only slightly relaxing, the groggy girl fixed a wary gaze at the two brunettes in the room.

"Don't ya worry, sleeping beauty-san. I'm not into molestation." The male of the two was an average looking guy with a deceptively handsome smile, messy hair, friendly green eyes. Someone who looked _too_ normal to belong to such an infamous organization. And the girl, who was definitely younger, sat at the corner of the room, silently staring at them. She had seen a lot of scary things in her nineteen years but the girl's blank white eyes, devoid of pupils or sclera, glowed eerily like ominous, inhumane embers.

There was activity in the next room, probably the dining hall – utensils were being arranged, chairs were being pushed, and someone was humming an airy tune. Wordlessly, the blank-eyed girl jumped up from her chair and walked out . . . but not before throwing a final cold gaze upon the female in bed.

After she'd left, the boy spoke. "Don't worry about Shi-Su. She's always been a bit of a grumpy cat." Uninvited, he sat down on the edge of the single bed, too close for comfort. "But she's actually quite a cute little thing inside that prickly shell of hers."

' _Does he always talk so much?'_ Instead of voicing out her complaint, however, she asked, "Is your Leader here?" Her bare toes touched the cool tiled floor as she stepped out.

Before he could reply, however, a cheerful voice sung out from the dining room. "Untouchable-kun! Oculus-chan! Breakfast is getting cold!"

Shrugging, Untouchable held out a friendly hand to the girl, smiling genially – she stared at it for a few seconds before walking past him and into the egg-and-toast-scented room. Chuckling to himself, he muttered, "Looks like we have a Shi-Su 2.0 now," and followed after.

Compared to the dark bedroom she'd been sleeping in, bright sunlight filtered through the four large windows in the dining room, which had been painted in bright pastels of viridian and bubblegum pink. The round table had been set with five steaming cups and several bowls and plates – a man in a business suit, who looked like every other middle-aged corporate worker, sat reading the paper. A black-haired lady, with her back facing the new entrance, was serving up the plates. Shi-Su, who'd been disinterestedly dabbing at her plate, looked up as Oculus and Untouchable appeared.

For a moment, the ombre-haired girl stopped short.

 _( A distant past with sunny, cheerful mornings filled with fresh orange juice and deliciously fried ham. A laughing child sat at the table, cheese spread all over her mouth, as her muscular father recounted several stupid jokes from work. Her mother moved around the table, setting down the fruit plate, and smiling as her husband placed a quick peck on her cheek._

" _Eat up-!" )_

"Eat up, Untouchable-kun and Oculus-chan!" Her breath caught in her throat as the woman turned around to beam at them, teeth and gums on full display without the cover of lips. Unconsciously, at the view of the physical abnormality, Oculus' left hand moved to her right arm, clutching at it – specifically, at the fleshy stump that ended right beneath the elbow.

Untouchable said some flattering words to the squealing woman as Oculus took the empty seat between Shi-Su and the other man, who hadn't even looked at her, taking comfort in their quietness. She stared at the fluffy eggs, crunchy toast and three sausages on her plate, warm and deliciously fried – her memory jogged back to the last time she'd eaten a home-cooked meal.

She couldn't remember.

"Umm . . . thank you." She mumbled quietly as she picked up a fork – however, the words hadn't escaped the woman's ears.

"Oh, you're most welcome, Dearie!" She loudly clapped her hands together, eyes lighting childishly. "Did you have a good sleep last night?!"

Her fork paused before her lips. "Umm . . . yes. Very good, actually." The woman was staring at her with full attention, nodding encouragingly and still smiling with her eerie, lip-less mouth. Feeling herself grow increasingly nervous, Oculus swallowed down her bread with a swig of coffee and asked, "So . . . who is the RVL Leader?" But even before the answer, her eye had already rested on the man reading the paper.

And indeed, at the question, he put down _The Musutafu Times_ and stared at the young adult. "Before we proceed further, there is one thing I will make clear to you." His patronising tone didn't sit well but for all the hospitality she'd received, she decided to go along with it. "Our Master, as every member should refer to him, is a person whose great goals are often disparate to the less amount of time all humans have been cursed with. Therefore, until he finds it necessary, or an unmanageable emergency pops up, none of us shall disturb him and waste even a _second_ of his precious time. I hope that sits clear?"

Although his tone was inclusive, his dark eyes gazed straight at Oculus. Realising she had no alternative, she unwillingly nodded.

"And therefore, in his absence, I am the acting leader of the Resurrected Villains' League. My name is Doumoto and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Oculus." He nodded curtly at her.

"Same here." His fluent, superior tone reminded her of some of her high-flying classmates from school. She was already beginning to dislike him.

From between the papers, Doumoto fetched a sheet and from the black-smudged edges, Oculus realised it was her 'RVL Villain form'. Everyone was silent as the deputy leader's eyes scanned through the documents, making nervousness pool in her stomach. The past years had forced her to survive between various shady organisations and people but-

' _Something about them . . . doesn't feel human.'_ Her eye shifted uneasily between the occupants of the table. _'Almost like they're . . . demons or something.'_

An eyebrow raised in amusement, Doumoto uttered, "Quite an interesting and unique Quirk, if I may say so myself. Not to mention, useful in various ways." Oculus stiffened slightly when their gazes met, realising that he shared the same kind of aura her high school homeroom teacher had – subtle, laidback but intimidating and terrifying in a way that slowly choked you up.

Putting down the sheets, he took a long, quiet sip of his coffee. Oculus continued staring at him, her senses telling her to be on alert. But, after a few seconds, he finally spoke.

"As I'd thought, it _was_ you. The one who murdered UA dropout Awase Aki last night."

Pale knuckles whitened as they gripped the edges of the plastic table. "What . . . makes you say so?" she kept her voice cool, too relaxed to be doubted, but the hairs on her nape and arms were standing on edge, kept hidden only by her grey hoodie. One wrong word and she'd be ready to flight her way out.

"These eyes of mine . . . they have a gaze everywhere." His fingers hovered over the crimson ringed pupils, a gratuitous smirk tugging at the edges of sallow lips. "The traces of black sludge that you carelessly left on Awase Aki's corpse . . . if the police have you on record, they definitely know who her murderer is by now."

She gripped her skirt but was unable to reply. Indeed, she'd been careless; once Aki's eyes had turned lifeless, the exhilaration and fulfilment had blinded her, the success of having carried out a part of her vengeance almost blinding. But, unfortunately, someone had heard cries of her victim's struggle and people had begun to crowd into the dark alley, forcing Oculus to escape before she could remove the proof of her involvement.

"Ah, this must be your first murder, then?" Untouchable had an agonizingly infuriating smile on his face as he gazed at her, cheek languidly cupped in his hand. "Worry not, Oculus-chan, I too made such mistakes during my first murder. But by my seventh, I'd completely perfected the art of erasing evidence!"

"Though by that time, the public had already become familiar with your murder methods, Untouchable-kun!" The lipless woman burst into giggles, the only one who hadn't had a bite of food.

"He he, well, some things can't be helped, right?" Untouchable sheepishly grinned as he scratched the back of his head. "Blood Balloon _does_ leave quite a mess behind."

During their banter, none of the two had noticed the gradual paling of Oculus' face as a terrified realisation glinted through her eye. Since the very first moment, she'd been on edge for some reason but now, she'd realised what it'd been.

Her stare rested on the kind-faced brunet. _'This guy . . .'_

 _( "A dangerous Villain, recognised only by the exploded mess of corpses they leave behind. Except their blood group, we don't have a single ounce of information about them." The students made varying grimaces of disgust and fear, only a few of them being calm enough to take down Aizawa-sensei's notes._

 _And she was one of them. )_

' _But . . . I thought . . .,'_ Oculus' fists began shaking, bile rising up her throat, _'. . . wasn't he in Yokohama . . .?'_

"Hey, Oculus-chan?" Her mind cracked as Untouchable took her name, still smiling at her unnervingly. "Are you okay?"

Could he see that she was afraid of him? Had he discerned her shaky hands, the quiver behind the drawling monotone of her voice? Oculus swallowed thickly, reaching out for the coffee mug. She had murdered someone . . . she had no right to be afraid of another murderer. Taking a long swig of the lukewarm drink, she breathed, ". . . I'm fine. Just . . . a little confused."

Doumoto, who'd been hawking everything without comment, said, "Since your goals are a part of the greater mission of what we seek to achieve as an organisation, you're welcome to the RVL, Oculus." At the words, a heavy lift weighed off her mind and her shoulders relaxed; she nodded at the man, thankful for his calm words. Standing up from the table, he straightened his tie and continued, "Before you accompany us on your next mission, however, you still need to learn more about the Resurrected Villain League and the teachings and rules established by our Master."

Gluttony hummed to herself as she began clearing the plates – it was only then that the one-eyed girl realised she was the only one who hadn't finished eating.

As Doumoto walked towards the main door located at the end of the apartment, he paused midway. "A good start for you-" Oculus looked up from shovelling eggs down her throat, "-would be to get your Villain uniform done. Shi-Su will help you with it." A plate clanged against the table as the brunette jumped up from her seat, glaring at the older girl as she walked by. She paid no attention to Doumoto as she crossed past him, disappearing into one of the other rooms further down the hallway.

As Oculus stood up, wondering if she should offer her help to Gluttony, her attention was grabbed by a question from the acting Leader. "For your 'goals'," his back remained turned to her as he spoke, "Are there any specific Heroes you are seeking?"

 _( "Ne, ne, let's see how far in it can go!"_

" _No . . . please . . . please, Awase-san! Tekona-san!"_

" _Shut UP, muddy bitch! Gosh, you're such a whiny little piece of shit! Can't you see we're helping you?!"_

" _Yep . . . helping you with 'stretching' your Quirk limits! Come . . . on . . . now . . .!"_

" _No . . . NO . . . NO NO NO NO NO-!"_

" _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_ _)_

. . . How could she forget?

It didn't matter who she had to work with to accomplish her vengeance. For nothing could be as blissful as the moment of sweet joy when she'd plunged a big hole through Awase Aki's chest. The first taste of her vengeance, an act of brutal justice, had been horribly tantalising.

". . . Yes, I am."

* * *

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 11:46 a.m. – UA)**

 _( "KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF!" )_

He splashed the cool water on his face, shivering in pleasure as it soaked into his heated skin and ran down his numb fingers in small rivulets. Standing in the washroom of the rest area, Kenio looked up to gaze at his reflection in the clean mirror – sweat and water had plastered his bangs to his forehead and his pale cheeks still had a bit of colour in them from the exhausting first round. In fact, so lost was he in his thoughts, that he did not notice a second figure enter.

"Towel?"

Kenio jerked away and a scream almost escaped his throat before he realised that it was none other than Yasu who stood in front of him. Chuckling awkwardly, he mumbled a stuttering apology before taking the offered item. "T-Thanks, Hanransha-san. He he, I didn't . . . see you there." His voice trailed off in hesitation.

Mostly unbothered, the ash blond switched on the adjacent tap and began scrubbing his arms and face. "No problem, Nakamura-kun. The fly-catching battle royale has _bugged_ us all quite a bit." But even as he waited, there was no snorting snigger from Kenio. Glimpsing from the corner of his eye, he watched as the boy listlessly stared off into space.

Sighing noiselessly, Yasu gently grabbed Kenio's arm.

As he mewled in surprised protest, the blond softly asked, "You need to get the words off your chest, Nakamura-san. Otherwise, you'll continue to be frustrated and stagnant internally."

Wide vermillion eyes gazed unblinkingly at him before the eyelids drooped, an almost painful smile spreading underneath. "Heh . . . it's that obvious, huh?" Pulling his hand away, Kenio stared to the side as he began rubbing his fingers against his right wrist. He was quiet for so long that Yasu was about to probe him again.

"I don't know, to be honest . . . why I've been feeling so . . . so . . . _hopeless_ lately." Gone were the tensed smiles and forced grins – a look of discouraged sobriety had completely settled over the freckled teen. "At first, I used to feel confident in myself . . . especially when I got through the UA entrance test with Inori-san, Shimizu-san and Madou-san. And that moment when I was named one of the top performers in the talent show," Kenio's eyes lit up briefly, only a dull glimmer of their former self, "I was so . . . _so_ happy. I could've died then and I wouldn't have left behind any regrets."

Yasu stared at the tightly clenched fingers dabbed with smears of paint. _'Nakamura . . .'_

"But then . . . things happened . . ." Kenio could never forget how easily Kazumi had knocked him out during the Heroes versus Villains simulation. Or how he'd vomited and blacked out when Graviton had encountered them. Not to mention, his utter uselessness against Tsukuyomi-sensei and Dark Shadow . . .

The gradual realisation hit like a ton of bricks.

' _I've . . . been pretty useless lately . . . haven't I?'_

"I see . . ." Fingers, clenched tight to stop from shaking, gripped at the hem of his muddy jersey. "At this point . . . I'm not even sure . . .," Kenio couldn't stop the tears from spilling, ". . . if I'm fit to be a Hero . . ."

Yasu's pupils contracted.

 _( ". . . Satori?"_

" _You shouldn't have picked a fight with those Kitagawa delinquents." A goat's head peeked out from underneath the tangled jungle gym. "Do your wounds hurt, Yasu?" But instead of bleating, he spoke in a soft voice, worried._

" _Nah . . . I mean, they do, but that's not what's weighing on my mind." The blond raised his bandaged arm towards the dying rays of the vermillion sun, gazing at it with tranquil contemplation through his non-black eye. "Do you . . ."_

" _Do you think I can be a Hero?" )_

Kenio, eyes clenched and lips quivering as he tried to stop himself from crying, felt a large, warm hand grasp his shoulder.

"Let's say, you ask this to people, and each one of them tell you that you aren't." His chest grew heavier – he hadn't expected such sharp words from the Elfin boy. "Your classmates, your teachers, hell, even your _parents_ tell you that you aren't fit to be a Hero." Kenio looked up and was greeted by a distant, melancholic look in Yasu's eyes. "Maybe, so many times, that you start believing in them."

He wanted him to stop talking. He didn't want to hear anymore.

"But tell me, Nakamura-san . . . does _your heart_ really believe in those words?"

". . . My heart?" Kenio's hand clenched the front of his shirt, mind resonating with the words.

"Yes, _your heart_." Yasu softly punched the clenched fist. "Can you really resign yourself to leaving your goals behind just because people said so and you thought there was logic in their words?"

The fist dropped. "But, if there's logic in their words," Kenio replied, gaze drooping, "Doesn't that mean they're correct . . .?"

Fingers wrapped around his chin and forced his head up.

"Then . . . what if I say, _I_ believe you can be a Hero, Nakamura-san?" His lips parted, releasing a gasping breath; orange pupils widened and glimmered with tears. Underneath his thick balaclava . . . Yasu seemed to be smiling. "If you steered your heart away from what you truly want due to what other people say, will you be willing to steer it back if even one person believes in you?"

Kenio was unable to answer. He could only stare in shock.

Letting go, the blond leaned against the sink and sighed, "Yes, you may have slipped up and made mistakes . . . but who hasn't? Will you forget the time you saved us from being filled with holes by Graviton's lackeys? Or when you encouraged Yuki-san and bravely stood up to Enoshima? Or when you supported Tejina-san and Aizawa-san against the mobsters?"

Surprised, the freckled boy asked, "How do you-?"

"I'm not the only one who believes you can be a Hero, Nakamura-san." Yasu crossed his arms, nodding sagely. "Unconsciously, without realising it, there are many people you've helped and encouraged along the way. And if they were to hear you say such things . . ."

He bent down. "Even if you don't know it, you're already a pretty decent Hero trainee."

' _People . . . think I can be a Hero?'_ As the words sunk in, Kenio could hear his heart begin to pound beneath his chest, following a rhythm that pumped his blood.

 _( "Whatever you do, Kenio . . . I and mama will always support you. Because we know . . . you'll bring light in whatever you do." )_

' _. . . What have I been thinking all this while?'_

"Hanransha-san!" Yasu almost banged his head against the mirror as the ginger yelled – but when he saw the familiar light return to the vermillion eyes, his shoulders relaxed. "I . . . I'm still not sure if I can be a good Hero yet. But I realised . . ."

 _( The ten-year old boy stared silently at the blaring TV._

" _Police say that the explosion took place at around 15:37 hours. The identity of the Villain has been confirmed. However, now that Deku is here-" )_

"I never, NEVER want to let go of my goals. I want to walk the path of a Hero and inspire others to do the same. That is why I came to UA – because I want to be one of the very best!"

Yasu couldn't help smiling, even though he knew the shorter boy wouldn't be able to see it underneath the mask. Before Kenio jogged off, however, he turned back and beamed gratefully at the blond. "Hanransha-san . . . thank you so much! For saying that you believe in me . . . I won't let you down again!"

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "I'm not the only one who believes in you, Nakamura."

"Yep, I know now!" He pumped his fist, radiating light. "And that's why, I'm going to give it my all and win the Sports Festival!"

Yasu gazed after his figure as Kenio dashed off, returning to the crowd with the other students. The place where he really belonged.

"Be a Hero, huh?"

Sighing, the blond teen walked towards the common washroom door and quietly shut it close, locking it. "A couple of minutes shouldn't hurt 'nyone." Languidly, Yasu walked towards the sinks again but instead of opening the tap, gazed at his reflection in the mirror.

Tentatively, he peeled off his balaclava, letting the tattered material hang loosely around his neck.

' _I wish you wouldn't say such things, Nakamura.'_

Darkly tanned fingers trailed over the sharp, jagged teeth that protruded out of thin lips, gleaming white but shaped like the jaws of a wild carnivore.

' _Because . . . if_ _ **you**_ _say such things . . .'_

The sharp, rapid knocking on the door didn't faze him in the slightest. "Hey, is someone inside?! I need to answer nature's call!"

Calmly, Yasu pulled up and tightened his mask again.

". . . Where does that leave people like me?"

* * *

 **Student Name: Shin Tanezaki**

 **Quirk: Mechanize**

 **Shin can grow up to eight mechanical wires from his back and control their flexibility and length. These can also carry objects of a reasonable weight and he mostly uses them as attachments for his gadgets, from invention to combat.**

 **P.S: He obsesses over people with 'dangerous' or 'ugly' Quirks.**

* * *

"Thirty two spots. THIRTY. TWO. MOTHERFRIGGIN' SPOTS. And our class managed to get only eight of them."

"President . . ." Honnouji Reiji gazed worriedly at Hayate, who was sitting in a pose of absolute depression, face hidden in his palms. The passing 1-B students sat huddled in a corner of the waiting room, nervous for the second round to begin.

"I'm sorry, Prez." Hosoya Hiroshi had a serious look on his face as he apologised, eyes angry as they glared down at the clenched fists on his knees. "I tried to help the others but . . . there was too much chaos."

"You don't need to apologise, Hosoya." Ryota was calm as he stood leaning against the chair Akane was sitting on. "I heard the Prodigy Kanashimi Fuma and Transformer Itou Haruka were in your arena. It must've been difficult avoiding those two." Hiroshi nodded quietly, too ashamed to speak. Seeing the both of them in action had certainly made him feel powerless.

"Just so you know, I and Yukiji-kun had our own share of troubles!" Honami was latched tightly to her boyfriend's arm as she complained. "First, that skinny, white-haired creep from 1-A harassed me to no end! And on top of that, the snooty Nishiya brat was such a pain to deal with too!"

"That's right, Honami-chan!" Yukiji nodded with complete agreement. "We were such a cool duo even against such beastly opponents!"

Hayate slammed his hands down loudly on the table. "You guys are telling ME about how you suffered?!" everyone was momentarily stunned into silence at the shrill annoyance in his voice. "I and Yoshida-san were in the arena with those two loud delinquents from 1-A! AND, since we didn't have enough on our plates already, some spoilt, yakuza-like brat and his lackeys decided to go full berserk on everyone there!"

"Ehhhhh, really?" Honami's face was full of disbelief. "But Akane-chan told me that the both of you managed to evade both parties and catch your targets relatively easily?"

"Gah-w-well!" Hayate was completely taken aback but the speechlessness was soon overtaken by anger. "Yoshida-san, I thought I told you not to talk to anyone about that!"

"Nehhhhh, mommy, just one more slice . . .~" Akane slurred and giggled, completely encompassed in the throes of the pleasant dream she was having. Hayate stared at her with complete hopelessness before breathing out a long, surrendering sigh.

"Aha! So it was the truth!" Honami pointed an accusatory finger at the bespectacled guy. "You had it much easier than the rest of us then!"

"D-Don't be such a narrow-minded twit!" he spat back, equally aggressive. "Do you think the other students were just sitting flies?!"

As the argument dragged on, despite Reiji and Hiroshi's best attempts to diffuse it, Ryota found himself growing exhausted – although the disappointment he felt was not new. _'I really envy you sometimes, Yoshida-san . . .'_ The brunette, even amidst the loud voices, looked happy and content in her sleep.

As his eyes wandered over the populated room, they came to rest upon two familiar figures talking in a secluded corner. It was none other than his classmate Helena Darkwood who had nonchalantly ditched the class meeting to spend some time with her injured boyfriend. As Ryota stared at the smiling Aisen, a bitter feeling clenched within his chest.

' _. . . Sometimes, I'm really envious.'_

"Are you feeling better now?" Aisen felt guilty at the worry that clouded the soft hazel eyes. So he adopted the most convincingly reassuring chuckle he could.

"Yes, yes, don't worry, Lena!" It was true – after Shine Burning and the accompanying adrenaline rush had faded off, the full thrust of the injuries both Ryota and Asuna had left him with had been almost unbearable. But the powers of the healing God Shuzenji Ruka had brought Aisen back from the borders of purgatory. "I am in almost tip-top condition!"

Helena looked disbelieving but nevertheless, put on a smile. "I'm glad, Brave-Man. I was a little worried since Unagi was in the same arena and I heard Nishiya Asuna went berserk. But I knew you would qualify."

"Ahahahaha! It was a difficult level but I managed to power up and clear it in the end!" The blond nervously laughed, the memory of what a close call it'd been haunting him. If Jigoku hadn't given him a verbal whopping, he'd probably be still lying pathetically on the ground. And that bleeding, beastly Asuna . . .

' _Oh, God . . . I hope I stay away from her for the remainder of the festival . . .'_

"Kenio looks much better than before." Inori stood leaning against a cornered wall, wanting to take a small breather away from the rest of the class. But she had her eye on the freckled boy as he seemed to be engaged in an animated discussion with Akaname and some of their other classmates.

"I wonder . . . maybe Hanransha-san's pep talk cheered him up a little?" A little surprisingly, Kasai had joined her in the corner. But he was a quiet boy so she didn't mind the company much. For now, all she wanted was to think.

"Praise All Might! You guys made it!"

' _. . . Fuck.'_

Both 1-A students turned disinterested, borderline hostile gazes at the duo invading their private space. "~Oooooohhhh, what scary eyes!" The irately familiar boy before them clapped his hands with glee. "~I like it!~"

"Shin-kun, you're drooling again." His robot-faced female sidekick gently wiped off saliva that dribbled down his chin.

"The hell you want?" After the troubles the duo had put them through, Kasai was in no mood to be polite.

"~Uhuhuhuhu, I love rude boys but the look in your eyes is kinda scary, respirator hottie!" Bile rose up his throat at the flirtatious undertone in the shorter boy's voice and Kasai inched away in disgust. "~Oh, but I don't mean to be rude!" Chuckling as if he'd just cracked a joke, spectacles offered a hand to the pair. "I am Tanezaki Shin from support course 1-F and this is my childhood friend and companion, Togashi Misuzu!" The once-hostile girl was now bowing like a polite young maiden.

Kasai was cringing majorly but when he saw Inori actually take the strange boy's hand and shake it, his jaw completely slackened. "Tetsuya Inori from 1-A. The 'respirator hottie' is Hitori Kasai, my classmate and friend." His eyes went aghast when she introduced him but softened at the 'friend' part. "You and Togashi-san took us for quite a ride during the first round."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for that!" However, there was no hint of apology in either Shin's voice or on his face. "However, I simply couldn't control myself! There were not one but THREE beautiful people in front of me!" Dark eyes lit up like fireworks against a clear night sky. "My feelings completely exploded!"

"What . . ." All three heads turned towards Kasai, surprised that he was speaking. But despite the curious attention, this was something he needed to clarify. "Just what . . ." he nervously rubbed his arm, eyes staring at Shin's trousers instead of his face, ". . . is beautiful about us?"

' _What . . . is beautiful about an ugly freak like me?'_

While Inori stared silently at him, Shin seemed to be genuinely puzzled by his question, his expression blank. But after a few seconds, a wide grin split across his cheeks and he clasped the blue-haired boy's hand. Kasai could only stare at the contact with shock, too taken aback to act.

"I like rude boys . . . but I also like naïve people who're ignorant of their own beauty!" That was enough for the Hero trainee to pull his hand away but Shin looked completely unfazed, his grin unchanging.

"You're really beautiful, Hitori Kasai-san." He put a finger on his chin, a strange haze shadowing his eyes. "I think I'm beginning to fall for you."

' _. . . Isn't that the yandere-kuudere support duo from the arena?'_

Yasu stepped out of the washroom, ignoring Jobu's loud complaints as the latter rushed inside, his thighs clenched together. As the boy slammed the door shut of one of the cubicles, the tall blond made his way towards Inori and Kasai, noting the uncomfortable grimace on the former's face.

But halfway, a short figure approached him.

"Hanransha . . . Yasu-san?"

When his gaze lowered, he could barely keep his eyes from widening. The girl before him was pretty . . . _really_ pretty, in fact. He was used to pretty girls – even without exaggerating, his class was filled with physically attractive girls – but the soft blue of her hair and doe-like eyes had a warm, homely kindness to them.

And the look of relief and happiness on her face as she gazed at him felt almost unreal.

"I found you . . . I finally found you." Yasu felt his face grow hot for some reason, unease pooling at the pit of his stomach. For he could not reciprocate the longing familiarity in her expression. "To think you were at UA . . . but no, I shouldn't be surprised."

"Umm, I'm sorry," he disliked hurting people but he couldn't let her continue without clearing things out. So, as kindly as he could, he asked, "I really don't recognise you but you seem to know me." Hurt flashed through her eyes and Yasu felt the guilt pierce. ". . . I-I'm really sorry."

Why was he apologising so much?

But instead of running away with embarrassment or yelling at him out of anger, the girl bowed. "Oh no, please don't be sorry!" She was still smiling as she looked up but it was sheepish. "I didn't expect you to remember me anyway . . . So!" Regaining her cheer, she offered him a small, blemish-free hand. "I'm Awase Sui, a first year general education student and in class 1-D!"

Yasu gently shook the offered hand, marvelling at the soft skin. "Well, I guess you already know me, Awase-san. It's a pleasure to meet you. Although," he pulled away, curiosity piqued, "if I may ask, how do you exactly know me?"

Sui parted her lips. But before she could reply-

"Ya-kun, I didn't know you were capable of pulling moves on a girl!"

"Hanransha-san is certainly _not_ doing anything of the sort, Aizawa-san!"

Yasu was torn between feeling relieved and annoyed as some of his classmates walked up to the duo, led by a snidely grinning Koji and visibly annoyed Akaname. Mashiro popped up from behind them and poked the latter's cheek, smirking. "~Ooooooh, are you feeling jealous, Aka-chi?~"

The salmon-haired boy's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Of course I'm not, Madou-san?! Why would I be?!" Mashiro only giggled at him in reply.

"God, everyone's so fucking noisy."

Ryo grumbled as he walked out of the infirmary and into the waiting room, pain relief patches covering him in a few spots on his arms and neck. Although Shuzenji-sensei had done his best to heal him, he'd also stated that the 16-year old had to take it easy for the rest of the matches. Otherwise . . .

 _( "I don't use magic to heal your wounds, Kenshi-kun." Ryo chomped down on a Snickers bar, gaze averted from the redhead who regarded him with warning eyes. "My Quirk can only heighten the healing abilities of your body using the energy and tissues that your body creates. And the more you hurt yourself, the more energy your body uses up with my healing."_

" _Yeah, yeah, I know." He grunted, shoving the remainder of the nutty bar in his mouth._

 _A tight smile broke out on Ruka's face. "Well, it's such a relief you understand me so well, Kenshi-kun." The sarcasm that dripped from his voice was venomous honey. "Then you do realise that if you overdo it anymore, you'll exhaust yourself and pass out midway, right?" )_

' _. . . Of course I can't let that fucking happen.'_

"Oi, Kenshi, move out of the way! You're blocking the door for all of us!"

The hoarse undertone of Jobu's voice riled the emerald-haired boy and he swivelled around, ready to punch the daylights out of him. "Stop yapping like a pregnant broa-"

But as Ryo came face-to-face with a familiarly muscular chest, his voice wheezed.

"Ne, Kenshi, have you not fully recovered yet?" Jobu peeked out from behind the huge Horie, having not the slightest problem with the casual way he was leaning against the poker-faced boy.

"W-w-w-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, YOU COPY BEAST?!" Ryo immediately backed away several steps, pointing at a completely unfazed Horie with a shocked grimace on his face.

"Hey, you're being rude now!" Ryo's jaw dropped as the grey-haired boy pointed a thumb towards the quiet giant and grinned. "Horie here was the final contestant from our arena to qualify! Even after all the beating I gave him! Quite impressive, isn't he?"

Horie Daisuke gazed down at the much shorter boy, expressionless. ". . . Actually, we were more or less evenly matched."

"Alright, alright, I accept it!" Jobu rested an arm against him, eyes friendly. "I'll give you points for efficacy!"

' _Huh, so this dunderhead knows what that word means?'_ Ryo felt surprised at the fact – before realisation hit him. _'Wait, this isn't the fucking problem here!'_ "How the hell _did_ you get out of Kita's chains?!" he yelled, pointing a finger at the business student before turning his attention to his classmate. "And why the hell are _you_ so friendly with him?!"

"Real Steel says that yesterday's enemy is today's friend!" Jobu yelled back, looking very offended. "If you're so narrow-minded as to antagonise everyone, then you'll be left with no friends, Kenshi!"

"And as for the chains, I dismantled them once we left the arena." Kagami and Habiki interrupted the commotion, Ryo's expression turning bitter once he locked eyes with the latter. As he turned to glare angrily at the girl, she raised her hands in defence. "Hey, keeping Enigma in lockdown mode for a long time takes energy and concentration."

"You guys sure act like this giant and his bratty shota of a boss didn't just try to fucking pulverise us in the arena." Ryo almost couldn't believe how normal the others were acting after everything that'd happened. Had Jobu forgotten the way Ayame had treated him, almost dragging him and his pride down to the ground?

"I am genuinely sorry for that."

". . . _HUHHHHHH_?!" Not only Ryo, the other three's eyes also widened with shock as Daisuke bowed low, rippling arms straight by his sides.

Standing up straight, his face was as neutral as ever but there was indisputable apology in his visage. "I regret the way Ayame-sama and my other classmates treated all of you in the arena. After that brutality, it is no wonder you'd see us with wary eyes." Daisuke gazed at all four of them, looking much different from the combat monster he'd been during the previous round. "But I want to tell all of you that we had our own reasons for giving it our all. However, it is very true that we went way out of line."

Habiki still remembered the bits of thoughts he'd peeked into during the confrontation with Ayame.

 _( 'Mother . . . I'm so sorry, mother . . .'_

" _We're just doing what we need to do to save the livelihoods of our families." )_

' _. . . That's right. They were only doing what they had to.'_

"You . . . don't need to apologise, Horie-san." Daisuke gazed curiously at the tiny, silver-eyed boy who had been the key to beating Ayame-sama – his eyes were big and wise, almost dangerous in the amount of knowledge they seemed to possess. But there was also a comforting benevolence to them. "You only did what you had to, didn't you?"

The smile on his face was sympathy he rarely received.

"Yeah dude, Hara's right, ya know?!" As Jobu elbowed him playfully, he felt an overwhelming gratefulness root in his heart. "I got to learn some pretty good moves from you during our fight!"

Such friendly smiles . . . when had he last been greeted with such?

"Both of you . . .," Daisuke's pale lips upturned into the slightest of beams, ". . . I wish all of you the very best of luck for the next round."

"Just what the hell is fucking wrong with them?!" Ryo grumbled to himself, unable to understand how both the idiots had so easily forgiven the giant boy, talking to him like he was an old friend.

"Even though it may be stupid . . . I think that's what is so charming about both Jobu and Hara-san." He briefly looked at Kagami, who fondly stared at the trio as she stood beside him. All he knew about the girl was her Quirk and the fact that she was Jobu's sidekick . . . but the odd smile on her face made a sense of unfamiliar reality flash through Ryo. "Being able to smile at and accept people with nothing but kindness . . . don't you think that makes them shine bright, Kenshi-san?" She turned to him, looking strangely peaceful.

Ryo avoided the question in the dark eyes; because a single memory swirled in his mind.

 _( "No matter how much you scowl, Kenshi-san," her smile was the purest, brightest, the most precious thing he'd ever seen, "you'll never be able to hide your true kindness from me!" )_

"Like hell I do . . ."

* * *

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 11:57 a.m. – Arena)**

"And after that short break, we're ready to roll on with this year's UA Sports Festival!"

"What the hell, man?! Why the fuck hasn't that idiot turned up yet?!" Despite Eijiro's protests, Katsuki got up from his seat, checking left-and-right for the dark olive mop that belonged to childhood friend. Meanwhile, Shoto was dialling his number in his phone, placid face slightly tensed.

"I'm sure Izuku is fine. He's probably just running late due to some unfinished Hero or school work." Kyouka, who'd managed to arrive only minutes before the Festival began, tried to placate the angry blond. Beside her, Koda nodded.

"I don't think that's it." Tenya's eyebrows too furrowed in worry. "Last night, I spoke with Izuku-kun on the phone. He was really excited and was planning to turn in early so he could make it before time."

"Maybe it's Ochako-chan?" Mina coddled Eichi as he drank milk from his bottle. "You know, pregnancy's a really sensitive period. Maybe he's taking care of her or something."

"Eri-chan and Kouta-kun were supposed to be with her today, though," Tsuyu replied, thoughtful.

"Any luck, Shoto-san?" Momo turned to her husband, who'd been fidgeting with his phone for the last few minutes. All of them knew how excited the freckled Hero had been for the Sports festival since the past month. And Deku was known as someone who always reached before time.

"His phone's switched off." The tacit reply broke a cold sweat of worry on everyone's napes.

"Man, I don't really have a good feeling about this . . .," Eijiro murmured, leaning back in his seat.

Gritting his teeth, Katsuki sat back down with an irritated plod. "I sure hope his nervous system isn't acting up again." His fists clenched.

Meanwhile, in the arena, all of the thirty two qualifiers stood in a pair of horizontal lines as they faced the announcer's podium, patched up and sombre. After the short respite they'd received, they were ready to brave through whatever the next round threw at them.

And proceed to the finals.

"Now, to explain what the second round's gonna be about!" As Battle Fist's voice resonated powerfully through the arena, the central screen behind her buzzed awake, showcasing an aerial overview of the whole area. But what the students were staring at wasn't the battleground they'd just fought on or the audience seated around.

"Behold, UA's very own Herculean race course!" The overview of the winding track divided into four segments, each showcasing a vastly different division of the giant course. "Separated into the water tunnel, the rocking bridge, the spider maze and the dark cave, this course runs around the entire outer perimeter of the arena and measures around a whopping total distance of 6.2 miles!"

Twisting, interconnected water slides; narrow, wobbly bridges suspended far above the ground; a closed, maze-like construct with several spider-webbed doors; and a sprawling cave with a pitch-black entrance blipped on the screen before them. Several of the students were already beginning to feel sick.

"So this was why the outer area was covered with tents the past month!" Akaname came to a loud realisation.

"YES! _NOW_ IS MY TIME TO FINALLY SHINE!" Reiko stood ready on her Ankle Wheels, raring to go at a moment's notice.

Kenio stared nervously at the fast-flowing water currents that travelled down the slanting slides. He clutched his stomach, mumbling, "I . . . don't feel so good . . ."

"Round 2 of the Sports Festival, the Herculean Relay Course, has simple rules!" Ignoring the anxious expressions on the student's faces, Battle Fist did not let her cheer diminish. "The thirty two qualifiers will be divided into eight teams of four each with each team receiving this baton . . . the most important part of this round!" She held up a bottle-sized pointer, sunlight glinting off its shiny metal.

"Can't they let us decide the teams ourselves for once . . .?" Habiki sighed, extremely worried. His Quirk was the worst when it came to such situations.

"I heard there was some serious incident a few years ago in UA after which all teams for the Sports festival were regulated by the staff," Koji supplied, his face not pulled into a mischievous smirk for once.

"For those who don't know the rules of a relay race, I'll clarify!" As explanatory images popped up on scream, Battle Fist began, "One member from each team will participate in each course, ensuring equal participation from all students. The forerunner will travel through the first course, that is the water slides, and on reaching the starting point of the rocking bridges, will pass the team baton to the second runner. Then the second runner will do the same and hand over the baton to the third runner, who will be standing at the starting point of the spider maze. And so, it continues until the last runner of the team has reached the finish line outside the dark cave!"

"I-I'm scared, Fujita-san," Suzuran gulped, squeezing her friend's hand.

"~W-We'll be okay, Suzu-chi! Let's have faith in ourselves!~" But despite her optimistic tone, Hoshi's smile was uneasy.

"Now, there are only a few simple rules you need to remember for this challenge! One," the ginger-haired hero held up a finger, "do _not_ , under any circumstances, deliberately hurt your opponent with your Quirk! That'll result in _immediate_ disqualification! Two, you may use your Quirks in any way you want except in the act of the former!"

Inori's ears immediately perked up, her shoulder blades tingling. _'No matter how you look at it, that puts me at a great advantage.'_ And then, her gaze drifted between Fuma, Haruka, Reiko and Misuzu. _'Not to mention, them too.'_ Indeed, Inori wasn't the only one gazing at the other four speedsters – most of the other students were staring at the quintet, hopeful to be in their team.

"Three, reaching the finish line without the baton will result in the disqualification of the whole team!" Several gulps resounded amongst the students, all of them mentally coming to the decision that they'd sacrifice a limb but not the baton.

"Four, one runner will only run _one_ course! So no switching or halving your share! Five, once the team decides and assumes each runner's position, there shall be no exchange of place!"

Mashiro eerily giggled to himself. "~ Looks like this is going to be a real pain in the ass, ne? ~"

Once all her five fingers had been splayed, Battle Fist clenched her enlarged fist and punched through the air to instil energy in the crowd. "Only the first four teams that make it to the finish line will qualify for the Sports Festival's final round! Which means, half of the participants will be weeded out in this race course!"

Jigoku grimaced. "I expected it but when you say it so bluntly, it's painful to think of . . ."

Yasu stood calmly beside him. "All we have got to do is be the Megara to this race course." As the surrounding students stared blank-faced at him, he explained, "Megara because this is a _Herculean_ race course. Get it? His wife?" The expressions persisted. "No? Okay then . . ."

Akaname rolled his eyes and curtly responded, "For your kind information, Hanransha-san, Hercules murdered his first wife Megara and proceeded to marry three other women, not to mention impregnate over fifty others." That was enough to shut the dark blond up.

Once the excited roars from the audience died down, Battle Fist announced, "So, without further delay, let's load up the teams!"

As teenage hearts thundered against ribcages and blood streams rattled through veins, the black screen loaded up with thirty two names.

 **Team 1 – Fujita Hoshi, Hara Habiki, Itou Haruka, Kanashimi Fuma**

 **Team 2 – Honnouji Reiji, Hosoya Hiroshi, Kuwabara Yukiji, Mutou Honami**

 **Team 3 – Aizawa Koji, Madou Mashiro, Shimamura Reiko, Shimizu Akaname**

 **Team 4 – Enoshima Kazumi, Hitori Kasai, Nishiya Asuna, Unagi Ryota**

 **Team 5 – Asagumo Suzuran, Awase Sui, Hanransha Yasu, Tejina Jigoku**

 **Team 6 – Helena Darkwood, Jack Yuki, Nakamura Kenio, Tetsuya Inori**

 **Team 7 – Kenshi Ryo, Ohtsuka Hayate, Tanezaki Shin, Yoshida Akane**

 **Team 8 – Horie Daisuke, Jobu Jonetsu, Kita Kagami, Togashi Misuzu**

Even though minds reeled and thoughts scattered, there was no time to waste.

"After a five minute rendezvous, everyone will get to the outer arena! IMMEDIATELY!"

* * *

 **ED 3 - Itsuka Kono Namidaga by Little Glee Monster**

* * *

 **Inori: I am worried for my creator.**

 **Kenio: For Pinky-san? Is she fine?**

 **Inori: She is fine in body and mind but I am afraid she has been making conspiracy theories about a story she's been recently obsessed with.**

 **Kenio: *stares at Pinky who is mumbling to herself in the corner of the room* Which story is that?**

 **Pinky: *mumbling to herself* Did the Kinji parents force Siao to commit suicide or did they murder him and frame it as a suicide? What is the Kinji father's Quirk? Does it have something to do with the strengthening of the body's physical abilities or is it some transformation Quirk like Inori's? How far can Kaminaga use Tale Teller to kill him? Can she do one-hit kills with her Quirk, even if there aren't enough triggers in the room? Will Akui ever turn into a monster like Overhaul? Will Amai and Misaki** _ **actually**_ **set sail? But then what about Kaminaga x Misaki? Who exactly killed Wonder-Worlder's family? Is that murderer going to play a big part in the story? I think so . . . I think he may even be the main Villain . . .**

 **Inori: *sighs deeply* See, Kenio? I feel worried she won't- *turns head to see Kenio has disappeared* . . . Kenio?**

 **Kenio: *bending over to talk to Pinky* OMG, YOU READ** _ **NO GLORY FOR THE RESTLESS**_ **BY HEARTATTACK-SAN TOO?! *w***

 **Pinky: *w* You too, Kenio?!**

 **Pinky and Kenio: *rock back and forth in the corner and begin theorising together***

 **Inori: . . .**


	32. Ch 31 - The Fast and The Furious

**OP 3 – Anomie by Amazarashi**

 **Chapter 31 – The Fast and The Furious**

 **(14** **th** **June, Monday, 12: 05 p.m. – U.A)**

"Lena's up for the slides, Nakamura for the bridges, I'm in the maze and . . . Tetsuya in the cave, right?" Aisen counted the numbers off his shaking fingers, doing his best to keep himself stable. All eight group of qualifiers walked together in their respective clusters to the outer site of the arena, where the relay course had been laid out in a concentric circle.

"I'm sorry . . . I would've taken the first course but water and I aren't the best of friends . . .," Kenio sheepishly grinned, looking truly guilty as he rubbed the back of his head.

Helena uttered a short sigh but otherwise, looked perfectly composed. "It's fine, really. You can't swim and Aisen's flames are completely useless in water." A greater aura of dejection overtook the short blond at his girlfriend's words. "And it would be completely meaningless not to put our fastest member into the final leg of the race."

"Besides, my eyes have good vision in the dark as well." Inori's pupils turned into thin slits as if to prove her words. Compared to the boys, both girls in Team 6 looked much more confident.

"Woah . . . is there anything your Monster form can't do, Tetsuya?!" Aisen, however, had greatly recovered from his earlier ordeal. Although he still looked nervous, his footsteps were light and chipper.

"I'm glad you've recovered, Yuki-kun." Kenio smiled, genuinely happy for his friend. He just wished some of that optimism could as easily rub off on him.

"~Well, I guess you could say that!~" Aisen grinned, flexing his fists. Then, relaxing a little, he faced forward and stated, "I know we have strong opponents but we have Lena and Tetsuya in our team! Also, you're here, Nakamura!" He turned to the ginger again, flashing him one of his brightest smiles. "That's why, I won't cower here anymore and give it my all! With you all beside me, I'm a hundred percent sure we'll get to the next round!"

Kenio felt his tear ducts moistening at the genuine words and the faithful smile on his friend's face. "Yuki-kun . . ."

Inori turned to look at him and emotionlessly nodded. "We will win, Kenio. Believe in us."

Helena, her gaze straight forward, supplied, "If we all work hard, there's no way we can lose with our respective strengths. So keep your chin up."

Taking a deep breath, the freckled boy tried to push away at all his doubts and insecurities. For now, all he wanted to do . . . all he needed to do was believe in their words. And, in his strongest voice, he agreed. "Yeah, we will!"

"So what's the plan, Class A?" Ryota stretched as he walked along his quiet teammates, keeping his peripheral vision on their expressions. "I'll admit I'm not the best at creating strategy plans so the stage is all yours."

Compared to the others, Team 4 had a palpable, thick tension swirling amidst them. It was easy to see that none of the members were too elated about having to work together. The only thing making them cooperative was the shared desire to win.

"Give me all the important detailsssss about your Quirk, ssssstrengths and weaknessssesssss." However, such trivialities did not keep Kazumi from pondering upon their approach. She was confident in her skills, and was satisfied with her team, but there was no meaning to it if they did not get first place.

And against speedsters like Fuma, Inori, Haruka and Reiko, it could prove to be rather difficult.

"Hehhhhh, we were in the same arena though, Enoshima-san," Ryota shrugged. When all she replied with was a cold glare, he sighed, "My Quirk's called Barrier. Allows me to project an electromagnetic barrier around anything I want. I can control its size and strength and, if I'm being honest, it's pretty darn strong."

"Nice to ssssssee you've got sssssome confidence in you, if nothing elssssse." Kazumi returned his laconic smile with a malicious grin of her own.

"Electricity, huh? So that means we can count the both of you out of the water tunnels. And we definitely need Enoshima-san for the cave . . ." Asuna grumbled, looking displeased. ". . . Ah well, I'll take it on my ow-"

"N-No, I'll do the water tunnels!" To the surprise of all three, Kasai spoke up with sudden tenacity. Ryota had thought the blue-haired male was merely a shrinking violet compared to the domineering girls but his eyes shone with soft determination.

"Idiot. You won't be able to use your flames then, you realise that?" Asuna retorted, a tad exasperated. Kazumi had a thoughtful look on her face.

An unpleasant reminder of the Heroes vs. Villains simulation replayed in Kasai's mind, a traumatic cassette that started up whenever its needle was triggered. Twisting his wrists, he replied, "I . . . I wasn't planning on using them anyway. Death Breath can still work without relying on fire."

The brunette looked like she wanted to argue but Kazumi cut her off. "He'ssssss got a point, Nisssssshiya-san. Your Quirk would be better ssssssuited for the bridge."

"Huh?" Asuna looked even more annoyed at having to take suggestions from the lamia. "And why is that?"

"You sssssssaw how unssssstable the bridge wassssss, did you not?" Amber slits scoured all the competition around them, before looking straight at their destination – the starting point of the race. "We need ssssssomething ssssssturdy to make it through that deep valley." When she gazed back at the shorter girl, she was smiling, albeit without a trace of friendliness on her face. "What better than your tree trunkssssss?"

Although a little unnerved, the twin-tailed teenager sighed in agreement. "Alright then, whatever. I'll go second." Kasai released the breath he'd been holding – he hadn't expected the two females to interact with each other so smoothly.

' _Maybe, I was worried for nothing . . .'_

"Glad to ssssssee you are being agreeable for once, Nissssshiya-sssssan."

A dark look shadowed Asuna's face. "Don't flatter yourself too much, Enoshima-san." Her bandaged fists were clenched painfully tight. "It's just that I have to win here. **No matter what**."

* * *

 **(Water tunnels)**

 **Runners – Itou Haruka, Hosoya Hiroshi, Madou Mashiro, Hitori Kasai, Tejina Jigoku, Helena Darkwood, Kenshi Ryo, Jobu Jonetsu**

A small, fluttering camera hovered right before Jigoku's face. But he was too aghast staring below his bare toes to flash his signature playful wink at it.

"~Wowie! That looks almost like a ninety degree drop, doesn't it?!" Mashiro, who stood two shoulders to his right, beamed with something akin to excitement in his visible eye.

"Tch . . . shut it, freak. Even without your squealing, I'm feeling a headache begin to form." Even the tough Ryo had turned slightly pale.

"Heh, that's all the fight you have left in you, Crystallina?!" Jobu, despite his loud voice, had profuse sweat drops trickling down his temple. "T-That's pathetic!"

The eight forerunners of the Herculean Relay Course stood behind the yellow, thickly drawn starting line, inches away from the edge of the most twisted and highest water slide they'd ever seen. The blue slide seemed to be about as broad as a highway road that took an almost acute dip from their elevated starting point. Peering further, Helena noted that around a thousand metres away, the slide rose up from its drop into a warped set of enclosed tunnels, narrowing in breadth.

She couldn't see what lay beyond those tunnels.

Haruka, who was still his silent, poker-faced self, lightly slapped his metal sole against the plastic surface. "Although I don't understand the physics behind this, this _is_ sturdy, right?"

"Don't worry, Itou-kun! This structure is built from smoothened polycarbonate so even if you were to drop an African elephant and her cub on here, it would hold without any fear of cracking!"

Present Mic's high-pitched voice foretold his arrival but the students were not prepared to see him dressed for a children's pool outing in a garish orange lifejacket that looked too large for his skinny frame and pastel floral shorts. Seated on a rocket chair that elevated him to their level several hundred metres off the ground, the blond Pro Hero's amused expression was further fuelled with the looks of incredulousness his students shot at him.

"Why the long faces?! You guys should be excited!" He raised the root beer he was drinking in the air. "You get to ride the world's longest water slide! An exciting, wave-filled adventure that's over 4,000 feet long!"

Jigoku almost collapsed.

Kasai, with the calm before a storm, looked down at the giant structure with an unsure gaze. "I-I don't see the waves any-"

With a metallic grinding of gears, the whole slide suddenly poured out fast-flowing currents. Jobu stuck out an arm and dipped it into the water. Everyone noticed his shiver.

"Huahua, there you have your waves!" Flinging his arms excitedly, it was plain to see how much Mic was enjoying himself. "Water conservation is very important, kids, so keep all taps switched off when you're not using it!"

"E-Excuse me, sensei." Hosoya Hiroshi gathered up all his nerves and asked, "B-But wouldn't it better if we were to wear our swimwear for this?" All forerunners were still dressed in their dusty, tattered P.E. uniforms. Or whatever was left of them.

Wagging a finger, Mic tutted, "No, no, Hosoya-kun." Pointing at all of them, he explained, "As heroes, all of you must be prepared to fight in and adapt to any environment you find yourselves in! There will be situations where you won't have your Hero suits on hand, and situations where you will face yourself in disadvantageous environments!"

Jigoku patted down the gadget pouch he'd kept tucked under his jacket. Asuna had really caused the number of his special chips to dwindle. _'Damn, this really ain't looking good for me . . .'_

"Pros must always be ready to face any situation they find themselves in!" With an almost malicious look on his face, Mic stated, "That's why, if you fail here, you might as well abandon the road to becoming a Hero."

* * *

 **(Rocky Bridges)**

 **Runners – Fujita Hoshi, Mutou Honami, Shimamura Reiko, Nishiya Asuna, Asagumo Suzuran, Nakamura Kenio, Tanezaki Shin, Kita Kagami**

"I understand the bridge part . . .," Reiko gulped as she stared down at the sheer cliff drop below, ". . . but where does the 'rocky' part come in?"

The second runners walked around the first checkpoint of the race, demarcated by a tall, erect red flag. From what they could see, they stood on a cemented platform that overlooked a high and fatal drop of several hundred feet. Almost a mile away, the cemented platform began again but the only thing canvassing that valley were three narrow, shaking bridges constructed of old wood that looked like they would snap if a Chihuahua stepped on them.

"Huhuhuhuhuhu, I suppose those cannons over there have something to do with it.~" Everyone followed Tanezaki Shin's gaze and, sure enough, on the distant ground were what seemed to be a cluster the bespectacled boy was talking about. Although the others could not see them well, Shin used a metallic wire protruding from his back to place a pair of binoculars over his eyes. Zooming in, he snickered, "And they have their nozzles pointing straight our way."

Kagami felt her blood go cold. "T-They're not _really_ gonna be shooting rocks at us, are they?"

"Don't worry. The 'rocks' are merely cannon balls made of reinforced polymers so they won't cause any serious damage to you."

"~Midnight-sensei!~" Hoshi and the others turned around to see the woman walk languidly towards them, waving cheerfully.

"But, I must say," Midnight seated herself on the single chair below the checkpoint flag, crossing her legs, "They do hurt quite a bit if they hit."

* * *

 **(Spider Maze)**

 **Runners – Hara Habiki, Kuwabara Yukiji, Shimizu Akaname, Unagi Ryota, Awase Sui, Jack Yuki, Ohtsuka Hayate, Horie Daisuke**

"Haha . . . haha . . . HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" All the seven students stepped away in disgust from the bald, black-caped president of 1-B as he stretched his arms and let booming laughter escape from his stomach. "Oh, Hallelujah! Sweet Jesus! Praise the Allah!" Behind his sunglasses, Ohtsuka Hayate's eyes were mad with elation. "This . . . this looks so EASY! I WAS RIGHT TO PICK THIS COURSE TO RUN! HAHAHAHAHAHA! I GET THE EASIEST COURSE!"

Ryota stared at him as if he were a creature lower than faeces-eating flies. "You're a piece of scum, President."

"I hate to agree with Chuunibyou-kun but this does look pretty easy compared to the others!" Aisen was already covered in a sheath of golden flames, bouncing up and down like a sprung rabbit. "I'll get through this in a jiffy, yahoo!"

The eight runners looked beyond the thick yellow starting line to gaze at a tall, house-like structure that had doors as entry points, all with similar spider-web structures drawn on them. Try as they might, no one could see any differences in their design.

"It may look to be a simple building but that is all the more reason to not let our guards down." Akaname fixed his surgical mask to sit better over his face, goosebumps breaking out on his arms. "We have no idea how large it is nor what lies inside those doors." _'I just hope it's nothing disgusting . . . UGH.'_ He couldn't suppress his shivers.

"They called it a maze, right? That means it's not going to just be a simple, linear pathway that leads us to the third checkpoint," Habiki mumbled, sweating nervously. _'I'm expecting traps and lots of dead-ends . . . maybe even those robots from the entrance exams . . .'_

"Yosh! So all we have to do is break through the correct doors, right?!" Yukiji cracked his knuckles, grinning energetically. "A piece of cake for me! My Honami-chan is gonna give me all the strength I need!"

"That's exactly _not_ the kind of attitude you should be approaching this course with."

"E-Eraserhead!" All the voices echoed together at the sudden appearance of their black-clad teacher from within the maze. Appearing from within the middle door, he quickly closed it behind him and slouched forward in his usual slothful gait.

"Overconfidence is one of the biggest enemies you can face as a Hero. It's even more dangerous than a Tartarus-hardened criminal." Dark eyes scoured over young, nervous faces. "Don't underestimate anything. Even the simplest fights and the weakest looking Villains may pack a more explosive punch than you could ever fathom."

Aisen, Hayate and Yukiji quickly piped down from there prior excitement, now looking more sombre and grounded.

"U-Umm, sensei," Awase Sui, the only female amidst the eight, ventured nervously, "W-We won't get lost forever within that, right? After all . . . it is a maze."

Crossing his arms and leaning against the structure, Eraserhead sighed. "Don't worry, Awase-san. If any students get lost inside, they'll be helped out after the race ends. Of course, by then . . .

. . . You'll have lost."

* * *

 **(Dark Cave)**

 **Runners – Kanashimi Fuma, Honnouji Reiji, Aizawa Koji, Enoshima Kazumi, Hanransha Yasu, Tetsuya Inori, Yoshida Akane, Togashi Misuzu**

"They did a really good job of building it. It looks pretty darn realistic." With hands on hips, Yasu surveyed the structure before them with appreciative eyes.

"Hehe, with the amount of money UA reels in, this much was warranted!" Koji grinned in reply. Although he looked as laidback as ever, Inori noted his eyes were darting everywhere, pulling everything into observation.

' _I was sure their team would send that wheeled blonde idiot to the final course. Him being here is going to complicate things.'_ Although she was the perfect picture of composure on the outside, Kazumi was less than pleased to see Koji in the final instalment of the Relay course. She knew their respective teams would send Inori and Fuma as the final runners, and she could care less about the others, but all of her teammates had been mostly confident that the final runner from Team 3 would be Reiko.

"What are you doing here, Koji?" And lo and behold, the Tetsuya girl had stolen the unspoken words from her mind. "I thought your team would send Reiko to the final course."

"Nyahahahahahaha!" Koji laughed aloud, looking very pleased with the question. "And so did everyone else! That's why, I switched with her to make things more interesting! After all, everyone loves an unpredictable surprise!" He twirled around like the ace clown of a circus show.

' _Like hell he just did it for the surprise.'_ Fuma stood with his arms crossed and eyes closed but was, in fact, listening to every word of his peers' conversation. Opening an eye, he checked Koji out from its peripheral vision. _'In fact, sending him in last gives their team an almost sure-shot win.'_

In his mind, the grin on Koji's face was maniacal.

' _After all, he can incapacitate all of us in one place with only a joke.'_

"So now that we have our final set of runners in position, it's time to begin the second course of the U.A. Sports Festival!"

Battle Fist stood on a showy, elevated platform near the final checkpoint, hovering cameras capturing her beautiful face and toned figure from all angles. On the various TV screens situated in the now empty main arena, the audience excitedly gazed at the widely covered view of the first course.

"Alright, everyone! We'll now be beginning the Herculean Race Course! Keep watching!"

* * *

 **(Water tunnels)**

' _I had several plans for beating 1-A. But beating 1-A with 1-A?'_

Helena stretched her arms, neck and bare feet and unzipped her PE jacket, dropping it on the floor behind her. Assured they would receive their shirts and jackets later, all of the boys had decided to go shirtless for the tunnels, some of them showing off their impressive physiques in the process. Extra clothes would, after all, only oppose friction and buoyancy and slow them down in water – even though the fast-flowing currents looked too wild to be affected.

"A pity the ladies can see this only on camera." With his left hand, Jigoku blew a playful kiss into the camera recording his face, winking for additional effect. His right hand was tightly wrapped around a small, red baton.

"Get ready to be pumped full of water, scrap metal!" Ryo grinned, showing off a row of glistening teeth as he hunched forward. Crystalline protrusions were beginning to grow from his arms.

"Talk about yourself, Kenshi!" Jobu had folded the pants of his PE uniform to his knees, below which his legs had already set into steel form. "I'm already set to win this!"

"~Oooooooohhhh, the water feels so refreshing!~" Mashiro dipped a pale foot into the currents, livid with excitement. "~This is gonna be so much fun!~"

"U-Umm, Darkwood-san." Helena, who'd been staring at the 1-A students with a gradually darkening expression, was snapped out of her reverie by Hiroshi whispering next to her. The kind-eyed boy was staring at her with a determined smile. "I know we're opponents for this course but best of luck!"

Softening her gaze, she nodded at him. "Same to you, Hosoya." Her class was full of insufferable idiots but he was a nice guy.

' _Best of luck, huh . . . well, I'll definitely be needing it.'_ It was with these thoughts that her eyes rested upon the final figure in their course.

Listening to Aisen's ramblings since the past two months had given Helena a pretty good surface idea on the characters of most of 1-A. And while she was familiar with Kenshi Ryo's aggressiveness and Madou Mashiro's unpredictability, what she was most on guard against was Itou Haruka's sheer brutality. Especially since she'd experienced it firsthand only a short while ago.

' _It feels like I'm betraying him but at this point, our class will really lose rather shame-facedly,'_ she pondered, wringing her wrists. Recovery Man had healed them as best as he could within limited time but they still felt a little sore. _'I'm the only one in Class B who knows about 1-A's Quirks in good detail. Even if I can't do anything for Hosoya and the others this time, I_ _ **have**_ _to get myself into the third round.'_

"Okay, get into positions, everyone!" Present Mic hollered, raising an airgun.

Mashiro lay down flat on his stomach, spreading his arms forward. Haruka clenched his baton in his mouth and remained standing while the remaining six chose to take a seating position and clutched their batons in their arms. Seated on the edge of the slide, overlooking a deep drop with nothing but rapid water currents for transport, Helena sucked in a deep breath and let the nervousness exhale out of her body. Her arms were shaking and as she stretched her legs to hang over the slide, the cold water caused goosebumps to erupt on her skin.

"Did you get your water supply from the fucking Arctic or something?!" Ryo grumbled, trying to keep his unease at bay. He then proceeded to stab a sharp crystal protruding from his forearm through the wooden baton.

"Hey, Kenshi, that's pretty impressive!" Jobu praised, impressed. "That really ensures you won't be losing your baton easily, you know?"

"~Same pinch, Ryo-chi!~" Mashiro held up his right arm – a sharp bone protruded from above his elbow and in a similar fashion, had been stabbed through his baton.

"Fuck off, Cyclops."

Ignoring their rambling, Helena kept her gaze focused forward, trying to observe the trajectory of the water slide as best as she could. She was not one to lose her nerves easily but-

"START!"

Her thoughts came to a crashing halt as the airgun fired off.

* * *

 **Student Name: Daisuke Horie**

 **Quirk: Duplicate Texture**

 **Duplicate Texture allows Horie to copy the physical characteristics of any solid surface he touches and integrate it into his own body. This gives him both the strengths and the weaknesses of any surface he's copied.**

 **P.S: His family has been serving Ayame Onieda's family since several generations.**

* * *

"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Mashiro had felt a few thrills in life that were as exciting as the cold rush of water against his face and body as he glided down the slide at full throttle, experiencing a sheer drop he only saw on survival TV shows. Ryo was screaming bloody murder, his expression terrified as he flailed his limbs, accidentally hitting Jobu in the face. "Watch it, Crystallina!" The grey-haired boy yelled before heating up his feet till they glowed crimson. And as the water on his lower body began evaporating in whisking steam, he sped down at a greater pace, shooting past Helena, Jigoku and Mashiro who had previously been ahead of him.

After the initial fright and momentary loss of control, Helena had steadied herself and stretched her legs forward, using her soles to control her movement and push her speed. _'If I lose momentum now, the whole team is going to suffer later!'_ As her right palm began emitting a faint, translucent glow of ivory light, Jigoku and Mashiro felt a fleeting lethargy come over them.

"What's going on . . .?" The dark-skinned boy muttered, pushing himself forward by thrusting his palms against the waves. But before he could make much leeway, the Class B girl shot past him.

' _That was a good start!'_ Helena allowed herself a small smirk of victory as she crossed half of the students, powering up her body with their energy currents she'd stolen through Soul Projection. Not only would this slow the boys down, it would also increase her own speed and momentum, allowing her to catch up to Jobu who was currently in the lead.

' _Second place . . . not bad.'_

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?!"

"~Wowie! That's clever!"

' _Huh?'_ As her descent lessened, heading towards the twisting tunnels that took a sharp climb up from level floor, Helena caught sight of a familiar figure soaring straight past the water slide. Just before she entered the enclosed tunnels and her vision was cut off, she realised that figure had been Itou Haruka.

"Isn't that against the rules?!" Helena pushed herself upwards with her arms, the water currents guiding her lithe frame at a rapid uphill steep.

"~Hmmmm . . . I don't think so.~" She stifled a gasp at the sudden appearance of a snow-haired boy beside her. When had he reached her so quickly?! "~Battle Fist didn't explicitly mention we _had_ to use the course.~"

Finding herself unable to reply due to the increased force of water and narrow space, Helena could only bitterly stare as Mashiro waved at her and with a mighty heave, surged his body forward. She noticed two fin-like protrusions jutting out of his calves as he dived and disappeared around the upcoming twist.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH! THIS IS FUCKING CHEATING!" Her heart further dropped as she heard another familiar, unwelcome voice roaring close at her heels. It did not take long to see Kenshi Ryo swimming like a madman through the fast currents. His face was so red it looked like it would burst spurts of tomato juice everywhere.

"JOBUUUUUUUU! YOU MAY THINK YOU'VE WON BUT NOT WHILE I'M STILL CONSCIOUS!" The human-beast screamed, his voice bouncing off the tunnel walls, and echoing in a shrill cacophony. Although slightly disorientated, Helena saw her chance and took it.

"W-Woman . . . what are you . . .!" Ryo's surprised blush was covered by his flushed face as the girl made a sudden grab for his arm, fingers tightly clasping around his tight muscles. Although the way she stared right into his eyes with her determined hazel ones played nerve games on his heart, the increasing exhaustion overtaking him struck its gears.

"Why, you bitch . . . !" But feeling too weighed down to swat her away, he could only grind his teeth as the girl shot him what seemed to be a look of pity. She proceeded to swim forward with a burst of energy and power, disappearing around the corner of another twist. "F-Fucking vixen . . ." His muscles felt too heavy to move and as the currents swirled him around, he gradually began losing energy in his arms as well.

' _I'm sorry but I had no other choice.'_ Helena, on the other hand, was filled with renewed vigour as she moved her limbs in great synchrony, manoeuvring herself through the many twists and turns the narrow tunnel was riddled with. Ahead, along with the sounds of the rushing water current, she could also hear bits of conversation. It did not take her long to see two figures come into view.

"~Ehehehe . . . you're pushing against me, Jobu-chi. I can feel your hard thing poking into my side.~"

"I'm so sorry, Madou! But in this position there's very little I can do to control it, you know?"

' _WHAT?!'_ Helena temporarily lost her momentum as she absorbed their conversation, her ears flushing crimson even within the cold water. But as she neared them, she realised what they were actually talking about – the tunnel had narrowed even further and although the upward climb had levelled, there was barely space for two people to move side-by-side.

' _At this rate . . .'_

"YOU. FUCKING. TURDS." As she'd expected, she could hear furious splashing and expletives approaching from behind. Kenshi Ryo, looking more like a rampaging crocodile than a human, was approaching them at a wild pace. Helena was now convinced that the boy was inhuman.

"You may have thought you had me but it's gonna take more than that fucking trick to drown me, braid girl!"

"Woah, you actually made it, Kenshi!" Jobu looked impressed. "That's pretty tenacious, you know?"

Grabbing the momentary chance given by his classmate's distraction, Mashiro lightly shoved him to the side before swimming off ahead. Helena had the same idea and quickly stealing bursts of Jobu's energy currents, she swam after the other boy.

"Huh?!" She heard his confused whines fade after her but had no time to look at the expression on his face. Gliding through another turn, she mused, _'So that's why he's been swimming much faster than the rest of us.'_ Mashiro's little stunt had allowed Helena to note that along with his calves, he had grown fin-shaped bones from his arms as well. It took no genius to figure out that he was trying to adopt a fish's body structure.

' _But shouldn't his bones be heavy? How can he be so fast?'_ Helena could see faint light up ahead – which meant the tunnels were coming to an end. She felt a small sigh of relief well up within her chest. Although she believed she could still go on, the cold and exhaustion were now beginning to weigh upon her. Even with the stolen energy currents, she wasn't sure how much more she could push.

Hopefully, there was nothing beyond these tunne-

"Ah!" Something caught on Helena's ankle and roughly pulled her down, submerging her below the currents. Her mouth was filled with the cold water.

"Sorry, sweetie, but we all have to do these things at times." As she pushed through the surface, inhaling a lungful of oxygen and coughing out the water, she felt somebody push past her. Through blurry eyes, she caught Tejina Jigoku's cheeky smile as he waved at her before disappearing under the currents. Helena tried to follow him but was jerked back in place by a sharp tug caught around her left leg.

' _How did he manage to catch me?!'_ Lunging underwater, she grabbed the tiny hook that was attached firmly to the hem of her rolled pants. The hook was at the end of a nylon rope fastened to a playing card, which, in turn, had been firmly stuck to the tunnel floor.

"He's a sneaky one, I'll give him that," she muttered to herself, finally free. Her limbs ached but she had no time to waste. She could hear Ryo and Jobu's yelling voices fast approaching from behind.

* * *

 **(Rocky Bridges)**

"~I-Itou-kun?! That . . . was really quick!~"

All eyes were on the muddy and half-shirtless Haruka, whose tousled, clumped hair and numerous scratches were proof that he had yet again crashed somewhere on his way to the second checkpoint. "No need to look so surprised," he mumbled, handing Hoshi the teeth-marked baton after wiping it on his pants. "Just start moving."

Although she was momentarily silenced into surprise, she nodded eagerly at him. "~Yes! Thank you, Itou-kun! I won't let you and the others down!~" Bowing, she turned around and immediately ran towards the bridges.

"Ooooooooohhhhh, who's this hottie?!" Shin asked Kenio, placing a palm on his cheek as he gazed longingly at Haruka's battered figure.

' _Why are you talking to me?'_ Although annoyed, the ginger did his best to keep his voice normal. "Itou Haruka. A classmate of mine."

"Mou, Fujita's already beginning!" Shielding her eyes from the bright sun, Reiko looked in the direction of the water slides, which were sheltered barely out of view by large cement blocks. "Any sign of the others?!"

Kagami shook her head. "I don't think anyone else is coming for a while."

Asuna, who was tapping her foot nervously, glared at the dazzling sky. "What's taking them so goddamn long?!"

* * *

 **(Water tunnels)**

"WHY DOES A WATER SLIDE HAVE A WATER FALLLLLLLLLLLLL?!"

Jobu tried his best to control his dying fish movements but the initial speed boost Steel Forge had given him was now paying a heavy price. His calves had rusted and now weighed like a ton of bricks tied to his ankles which moved in the opposite direction he wanted them to.

"THIS STOPPED BEING A NORMAL WATER SLIDE LONG AGO- Glugglugluglug!" Despite his best efforts, Jigoku was forced under by the sheer speed of the currents. His exhausted limbs had no more strength left – all he could do was let the water carry him into safer ground.

After emerging out of the twisted tunnels, Helena had been thrown at a cemented cliff where all the culminated water roared over the edge in a powerful waterfall. Gulping, she looked below the straight drop to see a pond at the fall's base – even amidst Jobu and Jigoku's screams as they were carried away by the currents, she could see a tiny, drenched Mashiro crawling out towards the surface.

When the currents had thrown her, she'd managed to grab on to a thin ledge to support herself from being dragged as well. But now, she realised there was no second way to get to the first checkpoint.

"Fuck . . . we really gotta do this?" As he emerged behind her, Ryo's eyes were bloodshot and his hair a mangled mop of Savannah grass.

". . . If you want to win."

She didn't wait to listen to his retort. Helena had already thrown herself into the mercy of the currents, blacking out as deep blue swathed all that she saw.

* * *

 **(Rocky Bridges)**

Kenio was beginning to feel the remainders of his hope ebb away when he finally spotted Helena running towards him. The grin on his face gradually turned into a look of horror when he got a good look at her – her tightly plaited hair was matted in thin strands and plastered around her face, water was dripping from every inch of her pale skin and her eyes were puffy and red.

As she handed him the sopping baton, he couldn't help gasping, "What . . . what happened?!"

She was breathing heavily, answering him only in pants. "Later . . . just go." As she shooed him off, Kenio finally remembered that three of the other contestants had already set off.

"What the hell?!" Asuna chewed off the edge of her thumbnail, stomping down angrily as she glared in the direction of the first course. "Where the fuck is Hitori?!"

"I don't see Jobu anywhere . . ." Kagami already had a resigned look of defeat on her face, her eyes searching towards the horizon.

' _I know I'm the fourth one to set off but if the plan pulls off, we can qualify!'_ He had already made his preparations and not wasting a further second, Kenio placed a small, cartoonish copter on the top of his head. The last time he'd drawn one had been during the time they'd been to the slums to rescue Hoshi and since then, he'd made advancements to the design.

Giving the tiny blades a firm twirl, he ran ahead and jumped into the air, feet easily lifting off the ground. "Yes, it's perfect!" The ginger beamed with happiness, flying in patterns. He'd made adjustments to increase its manoeuvrability and speed and, as he zigzagged through the air, he was happy with the results. "Maybe if I paint the blades a thic-"

Lost in his musings, Kenio failed to notice the rapidly advancing boulder headed his way. When he finally caught sight of it, it was too late.

"WAAH-!"

It smacked right into him, throwing him off his trajectory and, worst of all, splattering his copter. As his vision faded into black spots, the teen felt himself falling through the air, his right side going momentarily numb.

' _. . . I'm gonna die.'_

And then, something grabbed the collar of his PE jacket.

' _. . . I'm not gonna die?'_

"~Whew, that was a close call, wasn't it, carrot-kun?!" Looking up, he saw Tanezaki Shin grinning down at him in amusement. The bespectacled boy was traversing under the bridge by using the mechanical tentacles growing out of his back. It was one of those very tentacles that had saved Kenio from falling out of the competition.

"Ah . . . thank you so much, Tanezaki-san!" He smiled. He'd disliked the boy but maybe he was a nice person behind his eccentric, insensitive self!

"That's fine! You can give me monster girl or respirator boy's number to repay the debt!"

. . . Or not.

The other contestants, on the same hand, seemed to be having as much difficulty as Kenio.

"Waaaaaahhhhhhh! This is the third fucking time!" Reiko struggled to pull herself on top of the bridge but it would wobble dangerously with the slightest of movements. "I'm never gonna reach the finish line at this sta-WAAAAH!" She barely managed to swing out of the way as another boulder cruised by, hitting and unbalancing the bridge even more.

"I . . . I can't hold on anymore!" Hoshi cried out loud, all her limbs tightly grasped around the bridge as it shuddered. She had been the first one to begin but in no time, Reiko had surpassed her. And every time she generated enough of a Gravity Field to float, a rock would knock her down again.

' _If only I could somehow increase my speed . . .'_

"So you had the nerve to show your face this late . . ."

As his blood chilled at the murderous look in Asuna's eyes, Kasai half-expected her to smack him flat with her trunks. But all she did was snatch the baton from his clammy hands and run towards the bridges. Kagami did the same – despite Jobu's head start, something had happened midway and he'd become the last runner to reach the first checkpoint.

"I'm sorry, Nishiya-san . . ." the blue-haired boy mumbled, gaze dropping. If their team ended up not qualifying because of his lateness . . . He wouldn't be able to forgive himself even if Kazumi and Asuna teamed up and beat the shit out of him.

Utterly exhausted and desolate, Kasai sunk to his knees.

' _Even though there wasn't much use for my Quirk in that situation, I feel so useless . . .'_

"Stupid blueberry! Stupid Enoshima! Acting over-smart and not listening to me!" As much as the others would think, Asuna wasn't ego-hurt over the fact that they didn't listen to her . . . Even if she was, the fact that s _he'd_ listened to them and become the second last runner was a bigger thorn prickling at her patience.

' _. . . Well, the silver lining is, they'll all realise how powerful I am if I beat them even with such a disadvantage.'_

". . . You're not coming, Nishiya-san?" Kagami's words were ignored by the brunette – stopping at the edge of the cliff, she surveyed the scene in front of her calmly. Reiko was in the lead, more than halfway towards the finish line, while Hoshi, Kenio and the bespectacled boy were not too far behind her. The annoying girl of the disgusting 1-B couple was hanging precariously off the bridge, struggling to pull herself up while some distance behind her, Suzuran was gradually moving forward by crawling on the underside of the bridge.

' _. . . And Kita's just begun.'_ Asuna smirked to herself. _'I can easily win this.'_

"WOAH!" Kenio barely flew out of the way to avoid another rock but it managed to graze against his left leg, adding to the muscle pain in his ankle. "Who the hell's shooting all these rocks?! They're inhumanly precise!"

* * *

 **(Near the cannons)**

"Amazing, Principal!" Cellophane peered into the distance, binoculars resting on Nakamura Kenio. "Your shooting skills are top notch!"

"Why, thank you, Sero-kun." Since the beginning of the second course, Principal Nezu had become covered in a dark aura that radiated utmost malice for humans. "You know what they say about practice makes perfect!"

' _I do not even aspire to imagine what you've been practicing on . . .'_ Tsukuyomi, who stood next to his fellow teachers, suppressed a shudder.

* * *

 **(Rocky bridges)**

"Just . . . a little . . . more-GAH!" Reiko managed to hook her legs around the bridge barely in time to keep from falling off. Hanging upside down, she stared down at the safety net that encompassed the whole breadth of the valley below.

"Reiko-chan!" Hoshi crawled forward as carefully as she could, knees scraped and red. "Are you alright?" she asked, offering a hand to help her classmate up.

"Yeah . . . thanks, Fujita!" Reiko picked herself up with the smaller girl's help, getting into a sitting position.

"~No problem~!" However, despite the everlasting cheer in her voice, Hoshi's smile was fraught. "~But this is really difficult, ne?~" Both girls glanced at the distance they still had to cover . . . it was only a few hundred metres but the constantly exploding cannons and the dangerously wobbling bridge made even that look difficult.

"No kidding," Reiko sighed out loud, her worn outarms lying dead by her sides. "I thought I could just blitz through it but every time I cover a certain distance and avoid one of those rocks, another one manages to get me off balance." She fought off the strong urge to fall down flat on her back. "Haaaaahhhh . . . I thought at least this second round would be to my advantage."

"~I know how you feel . . ." Hoshi nodded sadly in agreement. "I'm okay with my balance but my speed while floating just isn't enough." Her gaze drooped. "~If only there was some way to combine your speed and my Gravity Fi-"

The idea that struck her was as sudden as lightning.

"REIKO-CHAN!" The blonde almost fell off the bridge as Hoshi abruptly yelled in the loudest voice she'd heard the freckled girl use. Her eyes were glowing like the light of a million fireflies. "~I have a great idea!~"

"Ha . . . can't hit me anymore, can you?!" Kenio yelled in joyful glee as he avoided two rocks in rapid succession. Getting hit and grazed several times had made him realise the shooter's attack pattern – between the fourth and fifth boulder, all he had to do was time himself correctly and break into a sudden pause mid-air so that the fifth boulder would miss its trajectory.

"You seem to be having fun up there, Carrot-kun!" Shin's voice yelled out from below. "But maybe you should check out what's happening here on the ground too!"

It wasn't his voice but the sounds of branches and leaves that caused Kenio to look down with wide eyes.

Between the second and third bridges, a new bridge had emerged, joining both ends of the cliff together. At its starting point crouched none other than Nishiya Asuna, several thick branches erupting and shooting forward from beneath her hands. They interweaved and thickened further, roots bursting forth and digging firmly into the edge of the other cliff.

"Nishiya-san . . ." Kenio couldn't take her eyes off the sheer power and strength of her Quirk – a Quirk that held complete control over plants in every way.

' _Yes, look!'_

Asuna stomped on the wooden bridge she'd created with all her strength concentrated in her right leg. It did not budge.

She loved the admiring gazes on her.

' _Look at how powerful I am!'_

* * *

 **ED 3 – Itsuka Kono Namidaga by Little Glee Monster**


End file.
